Beautiful Enemies
by thebronzeEF
Summary: The Scoobies are defenceless as a group of demons stop at nothing to hunt down and kill Buffy. They come to the unfortunate realisation that only Spike is strong enough to protect her from them. Will the mortal enemies agree to work together ?
1. Visions

**AN: I know this story is set in early season 4 but I'm including Dawn. She's not the key. She's an ordinary human and really has been with Buffy since birth. I always saw Dawn as more of a key in seasons 6 and 7 even though I do feel it was a bit of a bad move introducing her in season 5 just for her to sort of be a bystander in the last 2 seasons.**

* * *

She was ready. Ready to take them on but every time she swung a punch, she felt all her strength, all her energy fly out of the ends of her fingertips and fade into black. Exhausted, the slayer fell to the ground as 3 hooded figures started to chuckle...

The cloaked imposter in the centre pulled a dagger from out of the depths of his robe and held it poised high above Buffy's head.

_This is it. No one's around and there's no way I can beat them off._

Suddenly, Buffy felt more awake as a gush of wind blew her hair off of her face. Someone had run along side her. She barely mumbled 'help' before the passerby had knocked her attackers over and was pulling her into their arms. They'd made it look so easy. Whatever the figures had done to her hadn't worn off, leaving her as weak as a defenseless child. She tried to lock eyes with her savior but they were moving too fast, bobbing up and down as they ran. Seeing through blurred vision, she managed to make out an outline, followed by slightly more detailed shapes.

Buffy awoke with a start panting with fear.

_What the hell was that? A slayer vision?_

She'd never dreamt anything so intense. She had felt the horror of her imminent death but at the same time she'd felt the joy of the men as she faltered. She massaged her temples lightly, trying to recall every individual detail from the dream when she was interrupted by someone bounding down the hall towards her room. Dawn swung the door open and poked her head around.

"Hey! Giles is over! Demony stuff I think."

"Give me a minute.""Don't leave him hanging. He sounds pretty urgent…"

* * *

Buffy found a worried looking Giles flicking through several pages of a chunky looking text. Her mom was already at work so they remained alone downstairs.

"What's the deal?" she sighed as she made her way over to him and collapsed next to Giles on the couch.

"Ah, Buffy. We seem to have a bit of a de -." He stopped when he saw Buffy not paying attention and stifling a yawn.

"Sorry am I boring you?" he asked an obvious hint of sarcasm in his voice. Buffy looked bewildered, genuinely not meaning to be disrespectful.

"No! Of course not, sorry. I just didn't get much sleep. Nightmare." Giles suddenly started to show more interest.

"Oh? Was it a vision?"

"I don't know. There were a few freaky looking hooded things though."

"Demons?"

"Maybe, I couldn't fight them off. It was like they were draining my strength or something."

"So it was just you and your attackers in the dream?"

"Yes. No. Sort of." Giles looked at his slayer in confusion.

"There was someone else there. They fought off the power sucking people and then carried me away. I couldn't see their face but they were familiar. Like I met them in the past."

"Were they saving you or taking you somewhere against your will?"

"I wasn't in much of a position to run away even if I wanted to but they were...gentle when they picked me up." Giles took a moment to consider everything.

"It sounded like a terrifying dream so maybe an unconscious part of your mind knows of this person but you aren't allowing yourself to remember. This person may be of importance." Buffy pouted slightly, thinking on what her watcher had told her. She wanted desperately to remember so why couldn't she?

"Anyway, what's the deal with encyclopedia Britannica?" she chuckled, pointing at the old, fusty smelling book lying on Giles' lap.

"There have been several reports of decapitated bodies down by the graveyard over the past several nights."

"Ew."

"Unfortunately, there are over 100 species of demon that kill their victims in this way."

"Any other gross clues to follow?"

"As of yet, no."Buffy jumped to her feet.

"Well, nothing I can do now, so I'm off to class. I'll patrol tonight"

"Of course." Giles replied, tucking the bulky book under his arm and starting towards the door.

"I'll let you know if any other details come up." Buffy nodded.

"Sure." As soon as the door had shut, Buffy called up the stairs to her sister.

"Dawn! School! We're running late!" A distant squeak came from the back bedroom and Dawn was at the top of the stairs in moments.

"Everything okay with Giles? Any slay-age I can help with?" she titled.

"Not in a million years."

* * *

**What do you think of the first chapter? Please let me know :)**


	2. Only The Slayer

**AN: I have been majorly busy all week so I'm sorry for the small chapter again but I wanted to get this chapter to you get in the Buffy spirit since I'm meeting Juliet Landau (Drusilla) and Anthony Head (Giles) tomorrow at Comic Con! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

If it wasn't for Willow, Buffy would've slept well past College hours. That dream had really wiped her out.

"Are you sure you're okay for the meeting at Giles'? You seem pretty pooped," Willow asked, concern creeping into her tone as they walked along the road to the watcher's house. Buffy took a few seconds to respond, having been staring at the same spot in the distance for several minutes.

"Huh? Oh… yeah. I'll be fine. I'll just get an early night tonight."

"Wouldn't it be better when you're in full Slayage mode?"

"Really I'm fine Will."

* * *

Minutes later, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles were gathered in the front room surrounded by books.

"So do we have any idea what's going around ripping our heads off yet?" Willow, Buffy and Giles all turned towards to Xander.

"Subtly put Xander but no not yet. We've managed to narrow it down to a few species who tend to decapitate their prey using evidence from the graveyard but we can't be sure."

"Well looks like we're not gonna know for sure until we find it so I'll see you all 'round." Buffy heaved herself off of Giles' slightly uneven couch and walked over to the banister to retrieve her jacket. Giles followed her to her feet.

"Are you sure it's wise to patrol tonight? You already seem exhausted." Buffy put on her best irritated smile.

"It's my fate to protect Sunnydale from the scum of the world so who cares if I don't get a break every once in a while? Of course I'm the slayer so I'll manage. Don't worry about me." Giles went to protest but Buffy put her hand up before he could say another word.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Once Buffy had slammed the front door behind her, she collapsed against it with a thud and squeezed her eyes shut.

_Why did I take it out on them? It's not their fault that this nightmare has completely shaken everything up!_

She was so scared of it becoming a reality. The thought of not being able to defend herself made her insides churn like when Giles had 'poisoned' her on her 18th birthday as part of the Council's stupid test. She was The Slayer. For the past 5 years, fighting and slaying was all she'd know. Losing that would definitely send her to a place she preferred not to venture. Her heart told her to not leave them without an apology but she couldn't go back in there now. She needed to kill something. She'd phone Giles in the morning.

* * *

Buffy stalked through the graveyard, stake gripped tightly in 'd been here for at least a half hour and there wasn't a rustle in the bushes to be heard. She slowly lost focus, fiddling with the wooden object in her hand. She prepared to go, pulling her jacket tightly around her torso and kept her arms crossed in front of it when she heard the loud snapping of a twig. Her arms unfolded quicker than lightning and she had her stake poised at the source of the noise in seconds.

"Chill slayer." Buffy rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, feeling foolish that Spike had scared her.

"Get lost Spike."

"Gladly. Don't get it in your head that I made the special trip just for you. I do have a life ya' know."

"A life that involves excessive amounts of alcohol and stalking people like a muzzled dog? Have fun with that!" Spike let a low but silent growl escape his throat.

"Don't have much of a choice thanks to those poncy army buggers." Buffy stared at him for a moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she giggled mockingly whilst cupping her ear.

"I think you're confusing me with someone who gives a damn!"

"Y'know what slayer? You bugger off. This is my part of town. Go back to your cozy little pad and get momma to read ya' a bed time story," he snapped as he skulked past her.

"I don't see your name anywhere so no. Why should I?" she retorted. Spike stopped on the spot, flexing his jaw muscles and pivoted to face her again before closing the area between them to a distance that she didn't feel entirely comfortable with.

"You're pushin' your luck Summers." Buffy shoved him away and prepared to plunge a stake into his cold, un-beating heart when something grabbed her from behind. She lost her hold on the stake as she flipped the thing over so that it was lying face up on the ground in front of her. She went for the stake again but her mind went blank when her brain processed the image in front of her.

_Oh god...It can't be_.

She was staring face to face with the demon from her dream. The slayer was aware of it regaining its footing but panic flooded her. She couldn't move. She glanced over the demon's shoulder quickly, frantically searching for Spike but the vampire had already like I'm on my own...

* * *

**AN: Please continue to rate and review! :)**


	3. On My Own

**A/N: I don't usually take this long to update but the last few days before Saturday were pretty hectic preparing for Comic Con. It was totally worth it when I met Juliet and Anthony! (Drusilla and Giles) Lucky me, I had food poisoning the day after too! I hope to focus more on writing for now since this year's exams are done! **

**Enjoy! :)**

**Also thank you to my brilliant Beta, ginar369 3**

* * *

Spike watched from behind a crypt as the slayer began to back away from the big bad. He snorted silently. What was she doing?

"She's finally lost her nerve", he muttered. The cloaked demon swung a punch and she expertly ducked but didn't make any attempt to return a fight. The vampire was honestly confused at the slayer's actions but felt compelled to continue to keep his eyes on her. When Buffy did eventually decide to lash out, her knees went weak and she keeled over. Spike felt as if a rush of adrenaline had spread through his system if that was even possible for him. She'd managed to shove him over perfectly a few minutes ago. What was so different about this wanker?

_Oh sod it._

Spike left the cover of the crypt and rushed at the demon, securing his hands firmly around its neck. With a bone crunching twist, the hooded monster fell to the ground, leaving a slightly pale looking slayer trying to get to her feet again.

"Pressure finally got to you love?" Buffy swayed a little as she regained her footing.

"Shut up", she spluttered. Spike looked on in amusement as she stumbled past him and out of the graveyard...

* * *

"Hi honey", Joyce called from the kitchen when she heard the shutting of the front door.

"How was the meeting at Mr. Giles'?" Buffy looked blankly at her mother.

"Fine. I'm gonna go straight to bed if you don't mind". Mrs. Summers began to look worried.

"Yeah sure. Okay. If that's what you want. Is everything okay?" Buffy was already making her way up the stairs.

"Yeah", she mumbled unconvincingly. Joyce's gaze followed her daughter up to the landing until she disappeared round the corner to her room. She bit her lip slightly as she walked quickly over to the phone before she changed her mind. The beep of the keys filled Mrs. Summers' ears as she punched in the numbers. The ringing felt like it had gone on for hours when someone eventually picked up.

"Hello?" the muffled voice echoed down the receiver.

"Mr. Giles? Its Joyce Summers."

"Joyce. Is everything alright?"

"Buffy doesn't seem quite herself right now. Do you know what's bothering her?"

* * *

The slayer kicked off her boots with what little effort she had left and slumped dramatically into a tight ball on the end of her bed. She felt battered, bruised and ached everywhere but she hadn't fought with anyone, her brain was in overload but she couldn't process her thoughts. Tears began to stream down her face as she whimpered quietly into the soft cotton of her duvet. These things knew who she was now, where to find her, what her weaknesses were and she couldn't do squat to stop them. How was she supposed to protect the world when the world had found a way to destroy her? Buffy was sure that she heard the distant call of her mother from the hall way but her voice only made the pain grow. She wasn't even going to be able to save her mother. She scrunched up her eyes, burying her face even further into the covers, desperately praying that her mum would leave. She needed to sleep. At least that would give her a few hours to keep the heartache at bay...

* * *

Dawn woke to realize that she'd slept in later than usual for a Saturday. Usually Buffy's loud movements and conversations would bring her round at stupid o'clock but this morning, not a footstep could be heard.

_Maybe she stayed at Willow's. I mean, it is the weekend after all._

Somehow, Dawn wasn't convincing herself. She gently pushed down the handle of her door, the clunking of the mechanism echoing down the hall. Once she'd reached her sister's room, Dawn pressed her ear to the cool wood separating them. She couldn't hear anything.

_Nope. She definitely stayed out last night._

Nevertheless, Dawn cracked open the door, lining up her eye with the gap she'd created. Buffy _was_ there after all. She was sprawled horizontally across the bed, teetering very close to the edge, tangled in blankets and sheets. Her silky blonde hair was messy and covered her face but from her stillness and deep breathing, Dawn could tell that she was fast asleep. The youngest Summers girl started to retreat, tiptoeing back down the corridor before making her way downstairs. She didn't want to be the one responsible for ruining the slayer's one night of long and interrupted sleep. It wasn't often that Buffy stayed home for hours in the morning. Even if she didn't have College, she would find some excuse to be out and about whether it was demon related or even just going out for a walk. It was like she couldn't stay put in one place for a long period of time. Joyce was already downstairs serving tea for a stressed looking Giles.

"What's up?" Dawn yawned as she greeted the pair in the living room. Both of them were silent for a few moments as Dawn's face became more serious.

"Oh god, what's happened?" Joyce picked up on the anxiousness in her daughter's voice and immediately put her mind at rest.

"It's nothing serious sweetheart don't you worry. We're just a little concerned about your sister. She left Mr. Giles' house in quite a hurry yesterday and she didn't look right last night." Dawn relaxed a little.

"Well she's out cold right now. She never sleeps in."

"Let her be for now Dawnie. Maybe rest will do her good." Dawn carried on further into the living room until she joined her mother the sofa.

"So...has she told you guys anything about what's up?" Giles pulled out a cloth and began to polish his glasses.

"She mentioned that she'd experienced quite a powerful and disturbing dream a couple of nights ago. A dream that had affected her deeply and left her quite exhausted in fact. I told her I'd look into it but I haven't been able to identify the mystery assailant yet."

"She did seem extra snappy the last time she took me to school." Joyce brushed Dawn's hair behind her ear as the girl was becoming clearly uncomfortable.

"We're talking about Buffy. She'll bounce back to her usual self in no time at all honey." Giles and Dawn nodded in agreement. A shadow loomed at the top of the stairs. Buffy listened into the distant conversation. Unfortunately, her nights rest hadn't cleared her head. It had only numbed the pain for a while.

"Bounce back", she repeated quietly. Her thoughts suddenly took over.

_Of course. I should've guessed. I always have to recover because I'm the slayer. Because I'm stronger than everyone else. I'm surrounded by family and friends but at the same time I've never been more alone..._


	4. The Miyrids

**AN: I didn't expect to get another chapter up today but I've just spent the whole day writing so I managed to get it completed!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Where's Buffy?", Xander asked as he made his way through the Summers' door along with Willow.

"Still sleeping. I think she needs the rest", Joyce replied.

"I'll say." Willow whacked Xander on the arm as he referred to the falling out at Giles' house the night before.

"Which is perfectly understandable under the circumstances", Giles hinted through gritted teeth. The friends gulped.

"What? What's happened?" Before the watcher had time to answer, the front door was flung open by a mystery figure, smoke rising from them.

"Oh great, what does Captain Peroxide want?", Xander sulked as Spike withdrew the smoking hessian blanket from his head and body.

"Oh so I take it you don't want the heads up on the cloaked beasties from last night then?" Xander and Willow could only look on in confusion at the singed vampire.

"What are you talking about Spike?", Willow questioned.

"Oh, you mean slayer dearest hasn't filled you in?"

"No she hasn't", Giles replied in a tone that no one could quite make out as concern or annoyance.

"Got jumped by one last night in the graveyard didn't she. Came over all weak. Thought she'd completely lost it"

"Oh god. The vision", Giles whispered to himself.

"Wanna speak up Rupert?"

"He doesn't have to", a familiar voice came from the base of the stairs. Everyone, including Spike, turned to face the weary slayer. She still looked pretty awful. Her hair hadn't been brushed thoroughly and makeup from the day before were dotted across her face in patches.

"I'm perfectly capable"

"Buffy", Dawn whimpered. The others automatically made way for the young Summers girl as she approached her elder sister.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Dawnie", she lied. She then turned to face a still slightly smokey Spike.

"Great, my day is now complete"

"Sorry to rain on your parade love", he sneered.

"But you might want some info on the baddies that shunned you last night". There was a long pause.

"And? I'm waiting?", Buffy pestered.

"Woah, steady on there. I need to make a livin' if you know what I mean so cough up" Buffy tried to smile sweetly but then grabbed a nearby stake as quick as lightning and held it up to the vampire's chest before backing him into a wall.

"How you saw me last night? Doesn't apply to you. I don't have time for your games Spike so just tell me what I need to know" Spike pouted a little, flexing his jaw muscles which oddly enough almost made Buffy's knees go weak a little.

"You wouldn't stake me love. You'd miss me" This only infuriated Buffy more and she pressed the end of the wood harder into his heart.

"You wanna put that to the test?" He sighed.

"Alright", he muttered, before shoving the slayer off of him.

"Saw them walkin' around the graveyard. Today. Still out there now I think. They looked pretty focused on whatever they were doing. I assume it's you they're after"

"Woah", Xander panted.

"Can we all just back up a little bit here? What the hell is going on? And what cloaked demons?"

"They're called Miyrids", Giles called from the living room, his head reappearing from a heavy book.

"And it looks like we're in trouble"...

After filling the rest of the gang in on her vision and her encounter with the demon from it the previous evening, Giles began to explain actually what Miyrids were.

"They've been the keepers of the demon world for thousands of years. If the balance of good and evil is even for too long, they will eliminate anyone or anything that stands in the way of chaos. Then they wait again until the world is ready to be thrown into hell again. It's their way of torture I suppose." Xander's eyes widened at Giles' words.

"Wait. What? Fiery, 1000 degrees type hell?"

"Metaphoric hell Xander"

"Moving on, what can we do to stop them?", Buffy interrupted.

"They cast magic on their victims so that they weaken and they're easy kills. We'd have to undo the spell for you to stand a chance against them. But its no ordinary magic. This is dark, magic only an experienced witch or warlock could conjure"

"Well looks like we've got to find someone then" Giles slowly drew his glasses from his face and began to polish them.

"Buffy, I understand that you're keen to regain your strength but we need to consider the consequences of going to a witch. There will always be a price" Joyce, who had been sitting back from the conversation on the couch with Dawn, stood up and walked towards her daughter.

"Honey, can't we find other ways of protecting you without going to these people? I don't like the sound of you owing anyone anything" Now they weren't only telling her how she should act, they were trying to take away the one thing that she was actually good at. That made her special.

"I don't need protecting! I want to be able to fight! I should be able to fight! I can't just stand back and watch" Spike moved from his place, leaning against the wall and coughed slightly.

"Not that I care but if it were me slayer, I'd get the heck out of Sunnyhell and away from these hell seeking wankers"

"Why is everyone telling me to run? We can defeat these guys if we stick together! Can't we?" A harrowing silence lingered in the air. Not even Giles looked confident. A feeling of relief came over the slayer as Dawn got to her feet but by the look on her face, Buffy soon realised that her little sister wasn't going to say any different from the others.

"Buffy. I know I'm not the best person to give advice about all this but from what I've heard, I know that if you don't get away now, even if its just for a while, things aren't gonna be all hugs and roses" Dawn always had a way of explaining things that seemed to make more sense than the way other people put them. It didn't mean that she was willing to listen.

"I can't believe this. All of you. First you make me feel like I'm all on my own and now you expect me to listen to you?"

"You're not on your own Buffy. Not ever. What on earth gave you that impression", Giles intervened.

"Well you made it perfectly clear this morning".

"Buffy, this isn't yo -"

"I don't wanna hear it Giles! I think I know perfectly where I stand. And where you stand for a matter of fact" Suddenly, the splintering of wood could be heard as both the back and front doors were ripped open. Everyone backed away into the corner of the living room apart from Buffy and Spike who instinctively took their fighting stances. The Miyrids were blocking the exits. Not 1 this time but 3. On a good day, she and Spike could take 3 demons but under the circumstances, she wasn't sure Spike could cope on his own. The rest of the Scoobies stared on in horror apart from 1. Before Joyce could stop her, Dawn leapt forward...


	5. Rescue by Kidnap

"Dawn!", Joyce screamed as the reckless girl lurched forward to escape her mother's grip. Buffy and Spike were both distracted as Dawn appeared at their sides. Buffy immediately grabbed her shoulders and ushered her back.

"Dawn what the hell are you doing?!", she yelled, a mixture of anger and panic in her voice.

"Buffy you NEED to get out of here until you figure out how to fight them! You know you can't beat them right now! Spike can't take them on his own either!" The Miyrids were edging closer now. They weren't the fastest creatures on earth but the Scoobies were clearly running out of time.

"Who am I gonna go with Dawnie? Huh? No one here knows how to fight or has anywhere else to stay!" Dawn slumped her shoulders and glanced for a millisecond at the prepared vampire next to them, his eyes still glued to the nearest Miyrid.

"Oh no Dawn! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! He's more likely to kill me than help me!" Dawn rolled her eyes.

"He'll listen to me! I know him, he won't let them kill you! He didn't last night!" Buffy's eyes widened.

"Hey, how did you know he helped me?"

"You escaped? In the graveyard? It wasn't gonna be anyone else now was it?"

"I can't believe you're even considering this! We can't trust him!"

"Just listen to me!", Dawn screeched in frustration.

"These Miyrids. They're only after you. Hide somewhere so that you draw them off us and I can talk to Spike". The slayer shook her head in disbelief.

"So not only do you want me to run away from everything I know with a vampire who wants to rip my throat out but now you want to use me as bait? Where do you get these ideas?"

"Im tryn'a help you Buffy! Just go!" She gave a sister a gentle nudge before she growled slightly and ran out of the house. The Miyrids attention turned towards the front entrance and Spike lowered his fists.

"Spike!", Dawn panted.

"Niblet, now's not a great time yeah?" He began to turn away but Dawn grabbed hold of his arm.

"No! I need a favour but you're not gonna like it"...

"Have you completely lost it bit?", Spike choked.

* * *

"Its the only way she's gonna make it on her own while she finds a way to get her strength back against these things" For the first time in his unlife, Spike was absolutely speechless. He kept opening his mouth to speak but words failed him every time he thought over Dawn's ridiculous plan. The others, especially Xander, were not at all pleased with the idea but eventually realised that if Buffy had any chance of survival, it was with the vampire,

"Spike please. She's my sister. She's never faced anything like this before. If there was another way..." She didn't need to finish the sentence.

"Oh bollocks am I gonna regret this. Where is big sis then?" The little girl's eyes lit up.

"So you'll help?"

"Well I can't, if I don't know where the bleedin' hell she's is!"

"I told her to run! She can't have gone far. Spike, what are you gonna do for a place to stay, food, clothes?"

"Bit, I can work that all out. I just need to find her and get out of town unless you want her head on a stick any time soon."

"Okay. Just tell her we love her!" Spike didn't say anything before flying out of the door...

* * *

Buffy was huddled behind a skip in an alley way, panting from running so far and so fast. She was hoping that the Miyrids didn't have some sort of scent on her. Not only was that gross, but it made it extremely difficult for her to outrun them no matter where she went. She was sure her heart skipped a beat when she heard something like the familiar scuffling of the Miyrids' walk echoing in her ears. She held her breath, trying not to make any noise as she backed away further into the alley. Her back bumped into something and she spun around, almost letting out a scream if it wasn't for a hand covering her mouth.

"Bloody hell slayer, are you trying to get your head cut clean off?" Buffy ripped Spike's hand from her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here? How can you leave everyone else unprotected?", she whispered.

"Beasties are after you. Don't worry, momma dearest and lil' sis are safe along with the Scoobies."

"You still haven't answered my first question. Why are you here?"

"Hate to say it but I've agreed to the niblet's insane plan."

"What? You actually took her seriously? God, you're even more deranged than I thought!"

"Not my idea of the greatest holiday either love but I made a promise and no matter what you think of me or what kind of demon I am, I keep my promises."

"Okay then, promise me that you'll leave Sunnydale and never come back and you'll leave me and my friends alone?" Spike let a growl escape from deep in his throat.

"Move your stuck up ass and get in the car before I drag it there." He pointed to a dusty, dirty thing with blacked out windows at the other end of the alley.

"In your dreams William", she growled before barging past him in the opposite direction that he was pointing to.

"Just remember you brought this on yourself slayer." Before she had time to react, Spike threw a hard heavy punch to Buffy's face as she tried to spin back around. She fell forward into his arms. Totally out cold. He wasted no time in scooping her up and slinging her over his shoulder. She was surprisingly lighter than he thought she'd be. It took hardly any effort to keep her balanced. He just prayed that she wouldn't wake up before they were at least 100 miles away from Sunnydale. Either way he'd have a pretty pissed slayer on his hands but the further away they were, the more likely she was not to turn back.

Why am I doing this? I fucking hate this bitch. Why am I saving her the one time she won't find some impossible way of escaping death?

Spike tried to push his thoughts aside as he rememberd Dawn's pleading face. She would do anything for Buffy no matter what she let on. The next time Spike checked on Buffy, she was still unconscious, sprawled across the back seat. They were only a mile or so outside of Sunnydale. He knew where to go. It was the last place he wanted to visit right now but he couldn't think of anywhere else to stay that had everything they needed, bearing in mind they'd run off with only the clothes on their back. Spike unconsciously put his foot down on the accelerator as he considered how far they had to travel, the horizon slightly in view through the non blackened gap in the windscreen...


	6. Somewhere Safe

Buffy dreamt of Dawn, her mom, Willow, Xander and Giles huddled in a dark, damp, cold house. It was identical to her home address but it seemed older and deserted. Their faces were pale and emotionless, like nothing else in the world mattered anymore. Every now and then, one of them would look into the middle of the circle that they were sat in. She couldn't see what kept catching their attention until Dawn made a gap in the shape. There, was a single wooden photo frame with a dusty picture of herself in it. Buffy didn't know what it was but she awoke with a gasp, shooting up into a sitting position, hands behind her supporting her weight. A velvety fabric beneath her fingers made her break away from her dream. Wait, this wasn't the streets of Sunnydale or her home. She was in a house she'd never been in before. The first thing that caught her attention were the glass double doors leading out onto a balcony. They were huge and rectangular, stretching from the floor almost to the top of the ceiling. She clambered off of the couch that she had been lying on and approached them. The heat coming off of them was searing. She was standing in the only non blacked out place in the entire bungalow. Surprisingly, the doors were unlocked and she carefully stepped out onto the stone balcony. She was on the second floor of...wherever she was. Then she caught sight of the shining matte black car below. It all suddenly came back to her. The Miyrids, Dawn's crazy plan, Spike trying to convince her to come with him, the punch...

"Oh he's fucking dead", she muttered. She crossed to the other side of the room where she found the front door. She shook the door knob viciously but it wouldn't budge. A bang and crash behind her distrated Buffy from trying to escape out of the front. She tiptoed to the source of the noise and discovered a staircase leading under the house hidden by a wall. A faded white door was ajar at the bottom of the stairs, open just enough for her to catch a glimpse of a shadow inside the room. The familiar scent of Spike's regular cigarette brand wafted through the air as she reached the basement. Once she'd poked her head inside, she realised that it was more like a garage than a cellar. Random bits of junk covered almost every inch of space apart from a narrow path to the front of the room. Sunlight seeped in through the open garage door. The back of his bleached blonde head was the only visible part of Spike, his black leather duster and jeans camouflaging in with the silhouettes of scattered objects.

"Where the hell are we?", Buffy demanded. Spike didn't seem too surprised by Buffy's sudden appearance. He continued to take drags on his cigarette for a few seconds before turning to face her. A diagonal stripe of light only made his eyes and some of his right cheek and left brow visible.

"Somewhere safe", he replied simply.

"No. You tell me now." Spike sighed as he removed the ciggy from his lips before blowing out some smoke and throwing it on the ground.

"Knowing's not gonna help anything."

"You kidnap me, take me away from my friends. Tell me why I shouldn't stake you right now you son of a bitch!"

"Cause those things will find you and you'll have no where to run. No one to save your stubborn ass when you're cornered."

"Oh and you will?", she mumbled sarcastically as she slowly made her way through the maze of clutter.

"You thought I brought you all the way out here for a picnic and walk in the park? Don't be a twit slayer. I care about the lil' bit more than you think." Buffy had to take a few seconds to think about who he was talking about.

"Can see how lost she would be without you. I'm doing this for her. Don't go thinking this is in anyway about you. I still hate you and wanna suck you dry." She folded her arms.

"Likewise." The vampire raised an eyebrow at her badly worded comeback.

"Not the sucking dry bit dumbass. I'll stay here for a few days. Long enough for Giles or whoever to find out how I can kill these things."

"Whatever slayer. Don't think I'm enjoying this either." He shoved his way past her, seeming to know the dimly lit and tight path in the room off by heart, and begun to climb the flight of stairs back up to the main house.

"How'd you come across a place like this?" Spike stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head to the side so that one of his shining blue eyes became visible to Buffy.

"Bought it for me and Dru. Never got round to stayin' here though. Never been used."

* * *

Buffy spent most of the day huddled on the couch, the furthest point away from Spike as she could get. She'd found a decent enough book to read on the seriously oversized book case.

I couldn't read all of these in a lifetime even if I read 24\7!

Then she realised who owned the house. She dared to look at the strangely silent vampire, standing by the window, a bottle of bourbon not too far from his reach.

"I should call Giles. Let him know I'm okay."

"Fill your boots", he muttered, pointing to a 1940's rotary dial telephone on a nearby table. Luckily Buffy knew how these types of phones worked since she'd left her cell at home. She watched Spike cautiously as she approached him to reach the phone. She assumed Giles would still be at her home with her mom and Dawn. She dialled the number, praying that none of her family would answer. She really couldn't deal with Mrs and Miss 20 questions right now.

"Hello?", an alarmed male voice answered.

"Giles?"

"Buffy thank god you're alright. Has Spike taken you somewhere safe?" Buffy was outraged.

"Hold up! You knew about him coming to get me? You actually agreed to it?!" Giles coughed uncomfortably.

"Now Buffy, we didn't know what else to do. We have no knowledge on how to defeat the Miyrids and no one else is able to protect you. Besides, he can't hurt you because of the chip."

"That doesn't mean he won't try."

"Buffy are you safe?", he repeated.

"Yes!", she snapped.

"It would be helpful if I knew where the hell I was though. Stupid blood sucker won't tell me. All I know is that we're staying in his and his insane ex's would be vacation home."

"I can try and use Spike's history to narrow down where you might be but it will be quite difficult, not to mention time consuming."

"No. Focus on the Miyrids. Im not planning on playing house for any longer than I have to." Giles was about to hang up when Buffy realised how long she could be away from home.

"Giles wait. Tell everyone I love them."

"Of course." With that, Buffy gently placed the phone down as the tears threatened to take over. Spike felt an unwanted and unexpected urge to comfort her as he sympathised with how she must be feeling. He regreted how harsh he had been to her earlier in the day. She was separated from her family, her friends without warning. He recalled how he felt without his mother for a while after having to stake her. Buffy's lips quivered as she desperately attempted to hold back her emotions.

"Buffy...", Spike began as he started towards her.

"Don't", she sniffed.

"Just don't"...


	7. Forbidden Comfort

**A\N: References to the 'Han Short First' debate from Star Wars: A New Hope.**

**Hoping you've all seen Star Wars. If not, where have you been? :')**

* * *

"You really are a pain the ass slayer, will you just listen to yourself?" Buffy was outraged.

"Listen to myself? You don't even know what you're talking about!"

"Oh is that bloody right?"

"Yes! I'm telling you, Han didn't shoot first!"

* * *

3 months. 3 months Buffy had been stuck living with Spike, unable to get away from him. She was conflicted over whether she liked the new side to him or not. However, it felt nice to have someone similar to herself around. Someone who was never quite understood. She had the feeling that the spark of trust that had formed between them, when he explained how willing he was to stay loyal to Dawn, had now ignited slightly. It wasn't a fire yet however but he seened to always say or do the right thing to make her feel argument that they were currently having admittedly had been brought on by a mixture of boredom and alcohol. She'd never drunk so heavily like this before a few months ago.

"When were you born love? 81? Star Wars came out in 77 and I'm 100% bloody positive that Han shot before Greedo!"

"Oh, so you saw it that many times did you?", she bellowed back. Spike opened his mouth to speak but closed it again when he realised whatever he said next, he'd end up retreating in humiliation.

"Knew you were a nerd deep down", she muttered before taking the last swig from her current glass of wine. She was classier than Spike's typical drink of whiskey.

"What was that love?", he retorted. The suddenly silent pair were interrupted by the shrill ring of the out dated phone. Spike was wary as Buffy wobbled from side to side when she got up off of the floor to answer it. Spike's eyes followed her path across the room.

"Hey. My phone?"

"Who's gonna be callin' you?"

"Let's just hope it's not watcher boy on the other end. Don't think you can pass yourself off as sober even if you tried. Bloody wankered you are."

"Shut up. I can speak for myshelf", she slurred. He tried not to snort as she lifted up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Oh hey. What's up?" Spike watched the slayer in fascination as he watched her expression change over the next minute and a half. Her lips drooped from a stupid grin to a slightly parted gape and her eyes lost the sparkling glow that always perked up her face.

"He's just...gone? Why?" There was another few seconds of awful silence.

"Tell her I'm thinking of her yeah?"

"Bye."

If Spike wasn't looking directly at her, he wouldn't have noticed her gently place the phone down and walk over to the window. She was so quiet. Too quiet for his liking after how perky she was a few minutes ago. Even as he abandoned the sea of bourbon bottles, littering the floor, and started to make his way over towards her, she didn't look away from the glimmering night sky. His presence was noticed though. He could tell as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"What's happened?"

"It's Willow", she murmured, still facing the window.

"Oz left her." Spike didn't know what to say. He never really knew the wolf man but he felt slightly for Red. She'd never done anything to hurt anyone. She even seemed to sympathise with him when Dru left him. Sure, he had her held hostage at the time but she seemed genuine. Right? He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of Buffy sniffling. She was desperately trying to keep her emotions in check.

"I can't even risk going back to her just to tell her that everything will be okay. She's never had her heart broken like this before. She's probably feeling like it's the end of the world right now."

"Not your fault pet. She'll understand."

"That's not the point. She's my best friend. I should be there for her", she snapped. She was getting frustrated and agitated now and the tears were stinging at her eyes. She wanted more than anything to collapse in a heap and cry but no way was she gonna let Spike see her like that. A shiver rushed throuh her as Spike's hand brushed her shoulder. He flinched away for a second but let it come to rest on her.

"As I said, she'll understand. She knows you would go to her if you could. Red's a resilient bird. She'll bounce back. Will take more than some bloke to drag her down for good." Somehow this didn't help Buffy and only made the need to break down worse. Her lips started to tremble and shake. He could smell the salt forming behind her eyes and couldn't help but put his other arm around her too. She leant into his touch much to his surprise but quickly came to her senses and spun around to try and walk away from him.

"It's getting late. I should go." He didn't let go easily but she didn't struggle for long. Her mind was telling her to get the hell out of there but she didn't want to. Not really. She craved the comfort right there and then. Before she knew it, she forcefully began to kiss him, sending rushes of adrenaline through her insides.

_What the fuck am I doing? He's a vampire. A soulless evil thing!_

She pushed her sensible thoughts aside as she reached up and fisted the lapels of his duster, pulling him closer. She needed this right now. Needed him. Spike shocked even himself as he found that he was kissing her back.

_Bloody hell Spike! This bint's made you go soft. Stop this bullshit now!_

But the pair continued to defy their natures and hungrily increased the intensity of their embrace. They weren't at all sure how far this was going to go until Spike reached under her thighs and hoisted her up so that her legs encircled his waist. She automatically threw her arms around his neck to support herself, surprised at the sudden movement. All the time, she didn't pull away from the heated kiss. Spike didn't know why but he let out the quietest of moans as Buffy squeezed her thighs together ever so slightly. What was this woman doing to him? He'd never been under someone's spell so easily. Luckily, they didn't have to travel to far across the room to reach the bedroom. If they did, they might've seen sense in the matter of extra seconds. Buffy began tugging Spike's duster down his shoulders as he carried them to their destination. Over the next few minutes, their lips only strayed when they stumbled or were removing each other's clothing. The only time they stopped to think about what they were doing was on the bed,the moment before he was about to enter her. His deep pools of blue shone into hers as he lay a top of her in the candle lit room. Her hand was gripped tightly around the base of his neck, wanting more than anything to be kissing him again. Her wish came true when he bent down to devour her mouth as he slipped inside her warm heat. God, would they regret this in the morning...


	8. Out In The Open

**A\N: A bit of Spuffy banter in this one for you. Couldn't resist! **

**I love receiving your feedback and predictions so please take a few minutes to leave a review! It would make my day! Thank you! **

* * *

Buffy awoke with an astonishing pounding in her head. At first, she couldn't remember where she was, let alone what had caused her to wake up in this state. She lay still for a few minutes, cupping her hands over her aching pupils and trying to recall what had happened the previous evening. She remembered fragments, images. Firstly Star Wars, then a phone call, then plenty of alcohol. Oh that's what had done it. Stupid Spike, with his endless supply of...Wait. Spike. They'd. Oh no. The slayer sat upright with a start, clutching a sheet to her body and slowly rotated her head towards the right side of the bed. A sight awaited her that she'd never ever expected to see. There beside her ws a completely passed out William the Bloody, sheets only just covering his lower half.

_Oh fucking hell..._

Buffy carefully dragged one of the many tangled sheets from the bed out from underneath the sleeping vampire, desperately not needing him to wake up. She successfully wrapped the linen around herself and silently retrieved her scattered clothes from the floor and bed. Big bads out to get her or not, anywhere was better than here right now. She was almost out of the room when a husky voice, glued her to the spot.

"What the bloody hell are you doin' in here?" Oh this was just brilliant. If she'd made it out of the room in time, he might not have remembered their little time together. She bit her lip firmly, almost drawing blood. She didn't have the courage to face him.

"Oh god", he moaned as he suddenly recalled what had led to their current circumstances.

"Yeah", was all that could escape Buffy's lips.

"I'm just gonna..." She pointed to the pile of screwed up clothing in her hands still refusing to face him.

"Same", he croaked.

Once Buffy had left the room, Spike peaked under the sheets at his naked form to confirm what it looked like had happened last night. He let out a groan of displeasure and fell back against the pillows again, face in his hands...

* * *

Buffy was sat on the couch with her arms resting on her knees, fingers tapping against each other. As more and more details of last night came back to her, the more she thought about it. She was driving herself crazy. What was she thinking last night? She let Spike see her emotional side, even let him put his arms around her! The worst thing was that she liked it. Liked it so much that she felt the need to throw herself at him? She didn't know. All she did know was that it was a huge mistake and it could not happen again. Ever. No matter how alone or upset she felt or how much she might've like the comfort. Not that she did. Much.

* * *

Spike had been dressed for about 10 minutes now but he couldn't bring himself to face Buffy. This wasn't like him, avoiding confrontation, but he cringed every time at the thought of having to speak to her about it and bring up everything they'd done last night. The truth is, he'd enjoyed it way more than he should've. She was a slayer for christ's sake! What was it about this girl that made him all weak at the knees? Or was it him? Was he changing into a soft ponce because of this cute little government chip in his head? Everything that made him, him was becoming a blur. A part of him hated this girl with a vengeance but another part wanted her. Wanted her physically and wanted to protect her.

* * *

Buffy couldn't bare this any longer. She stormed into his room, not bothering to check whether he was starkers or not, to confront him. Luckily, he was fully clothed and pacing. He jumped slightly at the sight of her.

"This is stupid and childish and immature if we keep ignoring each other."

"Right", he mumbled in agreement.

"Let's just clear it up. Last night was a mistaske. We'd had a lot to drink and I was feeling low and things happened. Doesn't mean they're gonna happen again. Alright?"

"Definitely. Never again." Spike nodded, still full of nerves.

"Okay. Now let's just forget about it and carry on like we were." They both gave each other a look, deep down knowing that it was going to be impossible.

"Apart from the drinking", she suddenly added.

"Only one of us gets drunk at a time. Not that I'm planning to get drunk again or want you too either."

Spike smiled at how flushed and flustered she was becoming.

"Relax slayer, you don't have to worry."

"Good."

"Good..."

* * *

"We're out of food. Blood too. Looks like we're gonna have to take a trip out." Buffy glanced over at the fridge where Spike was standing, a hungry look on his face. She just prayed that he was only hungry for blood not...anything else.

"Okay. Better go to the butcher's first before they're fresh out of blood", she remarked as she made her way towards the door. Spike couldn't help but glance at her perfectly shaped arse for a second. He recalled how tanned and...He soon snapped himself out of it when he realised what he'd promised Buffy earlier. What he'd promised himself.

"You coming?", she asked.

"Yeah."

* * *

The nearest town was a few miles away with everything they needed. It didn't take too long to get there and it was remote so there was a lesser chance of people knowing where they were. Buffy had noticed Spike's distant behaviour and was this close to punching him in the face.

"You could at least try to be a little more helpful", she snapped as they walked around the shop.

"What?", he replied, not paying much attention. Buffy'd had enough and roughly shoved him.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!"

"Trying to snap you out of your sorry state. Things happened last night. Get the hell over it!" Spike was incensed. How could she assume it was about her? Of course it was, but that wasn't the point.

"You're the one who jumped me in the first place love so don't try and take the moral high ground with this!" Buffy's nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed.

"God I hate you!"

"I hate you!" Buffy growled.

"Why did I ever agree to stay out here with such a selfish, bloodthirsty, sarcastic, arrogant, bonehead like you?!" Spike retaliated with the first stupid response that came into his head which he knew was not true in any way, shape or form but would hurt her self esteem like hell.

"Yeah well...you're rubbish in bed!"

_Smooth Spike_

Oh now he'd really gone and done it. Buffy was seeing red. She was about to punch his lights out right there and then when screams erupted from the shop as the automatic doors were blown forward. Spike was protected by the shelves but Buffy was standing in the centre of the aisle, directly in the path of one of the doors. Before she could react, the corner of the door smacked hard against her head and she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Buffy!", Spike yelled trying to climb over the glass door to reach her but there was no response. Spike momentarily looked towards the front of the shop to see what had caused the destruction and was horrified to see at least 4 Miyrids slowly making their way towards them...

* * *

**Please leave that review! :)**


	9. A Wicca's Touch

Spike was scrambling past bricks and shards of glass to reach Buffy now. She was half covered by the door frame, glass fragments pointing dangerously close to her body. He could smell the blood trickling from the large gash on her forehead that had barely missed her eye. After lifting the frame off of her, he made one last ditch attempt to wake her but she was out cold. No surprise with the force that the door had hit her at. He threw her arms around his neck and lifted her limp body out of the rubble. He planned to hide behind one of the overturned shelves in case the Miyrids hadn't spotted them but it was too late. Spike could tell, even though black hoods covered their faces, that they had their sights firmly set on the weakened slayer in his arms. Never the less, he ducked behind one, hoping to take cover and earn some precious extra seconds. There had to be another way out of here. Some sort of emergency exit. He frantically searched every wall in sight but nothing was visible. He only had 2 choices. Try to go around the side and outflank them or hell with it and try barge straight through the group. He preferred the first option and started to immediately tread around the scattered produce across the floor. He was only a few metres from the door when a Miyrid appeared out of nowhere and blocked his path. Any other day he could probably take one on it's own but not without endangering an already injured Buffy. Spike successfully swerved past it and was pleased to see that the rest of the pack were at the back end of the shop where he was once standing. He didn't hesitate to fly out of the gap, where the doors once stood, and leg it towards the Desoto parked about 10 metres away. Once there, even in the rush they were in, he delicately propped Buffy up against the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt. He couldn't help but take a quick look at her head wound and cringe when he eyed it's deepness. He had plenty of stuff to sort that out at the house. He just hoped that the Miyrids weren't able to track them home.

* * *

After about 5 minutes in the car, driving as fast as he was able, Spike pulled up to the kerb. Buffy began to moan and groan, probably being brought round by the pain. This wasn't good. She was most likely not going to let him anywhere near after the awful thing he'd said to her back there but he had to get her gash cleaned up asap. He clambered out of his seat and rushed round to Buffy, attempting to pick her up again. She resisted slightly but was still too weak and dazed to stop him completely. She eventually let herself be carried and mumbled a few words that Spike could hardly make out. Something like,

"Bastard", was the only word that sounded vaguely familiar. He chuckled slightly. She'd got that right. He hadn't considered how his earlier comment would effect her. It'd only just dawned on him how insecure she must've felt about her efforts in the bedroom thanks to Angel and that git Parker. He didn't want to be the latest guy to make her feel shit about not being too experienced with men. He certainly didn't want her to think that he'd used her last night either. Honestly, she was good. Great in fact. Gave him a run for his money. The door automatically locked behind him as he slammed it shut with his foot. He settled the semi-conscious woman on the couch before reaching for the phone. He had to make a call if they had any chance of evading the Miyrids...

* * *

"Ooh you owe me money!", Anya squeaked as Dawn landed on one of her properties.

"Damn it", she muttered, reluctantly handing the ex vengeance demon a wad of paper cash. Anya, Dawn, Xander and Joyce were all gathered round a game of Monopoly in the living room. Of course, Anya was thrashing everyone. Willow was in the kitchen with her new friend, Tara, preparing snacks for the gang. Giles never usually made Scooby social events anymore as he was always knee deep in Miyrid research.

"Language sweetheart", Joyce reminded her daughter. Dawn pretended not to hear and focused on the game at hand.

"How come you're so good at this Ahn? Me and Dawnie here don't stand a chance!" A toothy grin spread across Anya's face at the compliment as she counted her money.

"I like money. When you want it bad enough, it always comes to you." Xander shared a smirk with Dawn.

"Unlikely", he murmured. The home phone began to ring, automatically prompting Joyce to walk over and pick it up.

"Hello?", she chirpped.

"Joyce? It's Spike". Joyce was alarmed at his tone. He sounded distressed and panicked.

"Spike? Is everything okay?" Everyone's heads in the living room spun around in sync at the mention of the vampire's name. They hardly ever had contact with Buffy and Spike anyomore, except in emergencies. It was safer that way.

"Don't have time to explain. I just need Willow. Please tell me she's with you?"

"Yes. Yes, she's in the kitchen."

"Could you get her please? I need her right now!", he almost growled.

"Of course." Joyce yelled out to the woman in the kitchen and she and Tara came speeding in with the snacks.

"Sorry about the delay with the food but it's here now."

"Willow, it's Spike on the phone. He says he needs you urgently." Willow placed the bowls she was carrying on the nearest surface and rushed over to rake the receiver from Joyce.

"I'm here."

"Red, thank god. Can you cast protection spells?", he spat out urgently.

"Uh,yes. I think so. Why?"

"I need you to cast one over the house me and Buffy are in now. I don't have time to explain why." Willow started to shake.

"Where are you?"

"Can't say. It'd endanger us even more."

"Well how can I cast one over you? I can barely cast a basic spell over somewhere I can see!"

"Love, now's not the time for questioning whether you can or you can't. You need to try." Willow stood fixated on the phone.

"Willow!" Spike's cry made her snap out of it.

"O-okay", she stuttered. She placed the receiver face up before pressing the loud speaker button so that she could communicate with him whilst gathering spell books. The whole gang were now aware of Spike's panting. He didn't need to breathe so why was he doing that? Something must be seriously wrong. A moan was distantly heard on Spike's line and everyone instantly recognised the voice.

"Buffy, I need you to stay still yeah? I'll be one minute.", Spike comforted. Joyce and Dawn both gasped together.

"Oh my god. Buffy! Is she okay?", Joyce squealed.

"She will be. Got knocked on the head pretty badly though." Buffy began to writhe and moan at the searing pain in her head again.

"Red, dammit hurry up! I need to know we're protected before I can help Buffy!" Tara began to help Willow frantically flick through pages, Dawn was crying against her mother's side and Xander and Anya were both frozen to the table, trying to home in on the noise from the phone through the whimpering and scratching of pages.

"I-I've got it!", Tara stammered. Willow glanced over at the spell.

"That's it! Tara, will you do it with me? It might be better if both of our powers are combined. The bond will be stronger."

"That's all very touching but we can hurry the hell up?!", Spike snapped, putting an already nervous pair of witches on edge even more. The Wiccas joined hands in a circle and began muttering words of Latin as they closed their eyes. Yellow and orange light began to leave their hands and swirl around them before flying out of the open window. The light transfer continued for several minutes before the pair broke apart and the last of the energy disappeared into the horizon.

"It's on it's way! Depending on where you are, it might take longer to reach you. The 30 seconds before the sheild arrived, felt like hours to Spike as he kept glancing between a distressed slayer and the window. The light flooded the outside of the house, coating it in a bright sunny bubble before fading.

"Is it meant to fade into nothingness Red?", he asked.

"Yes. It's working."

"How long will it last?" Tara consulted the pages.

"Ha-Half a day maybe?"

"That's long enough", Spike sighed under his breath. Finally, Xander jumped up.

"Long enough for what? What the hell's going on Spike?", he demanded.

"Don't have time to explain Harris", he repeated.

"Oh no,you tell us right now. We're fed up of being kept in the dark. I knew we shouldn't have left you with her!"

"Look do ya' want her to bleed out? If not, I suggest you let me get to patchin' her up." There was silence and then a disconnection tone echoed through the Summer's living room.

"Is she gonna be okay?", whimpered Dawn..

* * *

**A\N: Please leave a review!**


	10. Stitching Up The Past

**A\N: This will be my last consistent update for a while due to work. I hope you've enjoyed my recent chapter spam and are looking forward to more! **

* * *

Buffy awoke to the sight of Spike' face hanging about half a metre above hers. He hadn't noticed her consciousness until she began to struggle to get away from him. He moved away from her, making her able to shuffle to the other side of the couch that she was lying on.

"What the hell are you doing?!", she yelled.

"Might want to look at your head." Buffy stared at him like he was a complete idiot but then started to feel around her brow, flinching when she came across a tender area of her cut.

"Was trying to clean it up."

"I don't need your help. I can clean it myself", she snapped.

"Maybe you wanna stitch it up on your own too?" There was a long pause before Buffy lowered her arms from her chest and leant forward.

"Do your thing then", she sighed reluctantly. Spike approached her cautiously, knowing that he had no right to touch her let alone speak to her after what he'd said. He continued his strokes with an antiseptic wipe across her wound, steadying her head with his other hand. She tried not to look at him directly but it was hard without turning her head, and wound, away from him. Within minutes, he had begun to thread the stitches, beginning to join the gash together. She squeezed the leather fabric beneath her with her nails every time the needle pierced her skin. He was as careful as he could be, trying to cause her as little pain as possible. Whenever a lock of her hair fell forward, his hand would be there, before her's, scooping it back.

"Since when did you need to learn how to stitch? Thought vampires healed quickly?", she asked coldly.

"Dru hurt herself a lot. Couldn't bear to see her hurt. Even if it wasn't for long." Buffy tried to ignore the sudden burst of warmth she felt for Spike that overcame her.

_No. He's evil. He can't love. Don't you dare think otherwise._

She was so wrapped up in her conflicted thoughts that she didn't notice Spike's flickering glare from the cut he was stitching to her own eyes.

"I'm sorry", he murmured suddenly after yet another awfully long pause. Buffy didn't need to ask to know what he was talking about.

"I didn't mean what I said back there."

_Why am I apologising? I'm Spike. I mean what I say right? _

Buffy bit the inside of her lip and continued to avoid his piercing eyes until he was on the last stitch.

"Even if that is true, doesn't mean I'm just gonna let it go." With that she jumped up and headed towards the bedroom.

"I can finish the stitching myself." As the door slammed, Spike let out a sigh, still kneeling by the couch.

* * *

After cutting the excess cotton thread and tying the end of it into a knot, Buffy crawled into the creased but still comfy sheets of the bed. She was drawn to the right side, Spike's side last night, for some reason and snuggled deeper into the covers. A mixture of smoke and tacky whisky flooded her senses along with a hint of fabric softener. Once upon a time, the combination would've sickened her to the stomach. She remembered vaguely smelling it when she woke up this morning but hadn't linked it to Spike until later. Before she knew it, salty droplets from her eyes began to sink into the mattress. Was it exhaustion? Loneliness? Betrayal? Maybe a mixture of all 3. Whimpering was the next stage. Whimpering so loud that she had to bury her face in the pillow to muffle her cries. By then, it was too late to fool a certain vampire standing in the other room...


	11. The Old Fashioned Way

**A\N: All of this came to me in my lunch break and I managed to find the time to type it up this evening. **

* * *

Buffy had gotten up early to witness the sunrise. She hadn't planned on it but couldn't sleep either. She was aware that Spike would be in the next room but didn't seem to care as she unlocked the door with a click. Strangely, he was nowhere to be seen. It crossed her mind that he may have gone out but if she knew him correctly, he wouldn't have left her on her own? Would he? It didn't matter now anyway. If the Miyrids wanted to find her, they would right? Pilllars of orange sun burst through the window and stopped a few centimetres away from the wall. She wanted to step into the warm beams but something held her back. Not physically but mentally. That's when she felt a pair of cool arms snake around her waist, pulling her closer into a hard chest. Oh. That's why. She leant into the sensation, suddenly feeling safe and protected again, and swivelled her head to the side to face the being behind her.

"Not long now love", a husky British accent breathed, sending tingles down her spine. Buffy was confused.

"Not long until what?", she whispered with no sense of displeasure in her voice at all.

"Sshh." He ran a teasing thumb over both of her lips before devouring her mouth, like he had done 2 nights ago. His passion was breathtaking as he put his...Well heart, mind and soul couldn't really apply to him since he only possessed a third of those things, his mind not really a strong point anway. He immediately slipped his tounge between her barely parted lips, not bothering to let her make the first move, and massaged her own. Her hands trailed up the leather sleeves of his duster, tracing the faintly noticeable curves of his biceps through the fabric. Her head shifted when he began paying close attention to the sensitive flesh from her jaw bone to her ear. His surprisingly warm tounge ran small patterns up and down, up and down repeated times. When his talented lips met her ear for the umpteenth time he stopped, leaving her craving more.

"Buffy", he began.

"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy, Bu -"

Suddenly, Buffy jolted awake. She was still in the bedroom, still entangled in a sea of sheets. She was shocked to find herself highly aroused. Then she homed in on Spike's voice on the other side of the door.

"Buffy? Buffy? Are you awake?" His voice must've entered her dream when he started calling her name. Oh god. The dream. She'd dreamt of him. Spike. William the Bloody. This was getting ridiculous. She tried to put it down to stress, greif, being alone but she knew deep down that pure lust was beginning to build in her system and if she didn't push him away now, it would all bubble to the surface. She couldn't let that happen.

"Yes", she grumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Why? I thought I made it clear last night that I wanted to be on my own."

"Your mum's on the line." Before he could utter another word, Buffy was hurtling towards the door, unlocking it in seconds. She slipped past the vampire, without even acknowledging his presence, and ran to the phone.

"Mom?"

"Buffy. Thank god you're okay. We were all so worried about you yesterday." Buffy threw a glance at Spike.

"Why? What made you think I was in trouble?"

"Spike called. He said you were hurt."

"He did, did he?" Her gaze on the disgraced vamp narrowed. Joyce could sense the anger in her daughter's voice.

"Honey, don't be mad at him. He was only trying to help you." Buffy quickly tried to change the subject.

"How is everyone? Dawn behaving herself?"

"She's been as good as gold. Obviously a bit fragile at times. She's missing you." Buffy felt her heart break for her sister. Dawn had no idea how much she was missing her too.

"And..Willow?"

"She's better. She's made a new friend, Tara. She's really helping her through." Mrs Summers didn't realise how much her comment stung her eldest. Buffy knew it was good that Willow had found someone who would help her get past the heartache whilst she was away but couldn't help but feel pushed out and abandoned.

"Bit exhausted from the spell I will say."

"Spell? What spell?"

"The protection spell. The one that Spike asked Willow to perform on your house." Not only had he worried her family but now he'd asked her best friend to perform magic that she wasn't physically or emotionally ready for yet.

"He had no right to put Willow under that sort of pressure."

"Buffy don't worry, Tara helped her with it." There was her name again. Tara. It was like someone repeatedly poking her with a sharp stick in the ribs. She knew she was being selfish but didn't seem to care.

"That's not the point." Joyce's tone changed.

"Are you sure you're not trying to find an excuse to be mad at Spike?" Buffy gulped. That's exactly what it was. How did her mother know her so well?

"He's done a lot of things to look after you. Even risked his own life."

She desperately wanted to tell her mother about what he'd done to make her feel awful about herself but that would involved mentioning a certain night that they'd shared. She couldn't risk anyone getting wind of that.

"I-I know", she forced herself to admit.

"Just hang in there sweetheart. You'll be home soon."

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too Buffy." Buffy stared in disbelief at the phone once she'd placed the receiver down.

"What the hell is your problem?", she demanded angrily. Both hers and Spike's eyes met at the same time.

"What?", he responded innocently.

"You contact my family, scare them half to death making it sound like I'm dying or something and then you have the nerve to put Willow on the spot like that and make her perform a huge spell. She has enough on her plate without worrying about us. They all have!"

"Well I'm sorry for trying to get the nasties off of our tail! Couldn't take the risk of them finding us."

"You had no right involving them!"

"You know what you're problem is?", he snapped.

"You need to learn to be more grateful. I saved your skinny helpless ass out there, stitched you up and you still haven't thanked me. Not the first time."

"Why should I thank you?! I didn't want any of this! I was happy to stay at home and fight these things off but no, you had to drag me out here where ever...here is!" Spike strode up to her, inches away from her face.

"We both know that if you stayed, you and your precious Scoobies would've all been dead by now." They were both panting quietly from all the shouting. If Buffy didn't get him away from her now, she knew she'd do something with him she'd wake up and regret in a few hours. She planted her hands on his chest, being careful not to leave them there for too long, and shoved him backwards.

"We're done. Pull a stunt like this again and I swear to God I will stake you." She began to walk away, not that there was anywhere else to go except the bathroom or the bedroom and she didn't feel like being cooped up in either of those all day, but Spike want finished.

"Oh that's it. You try and walk away. In case you haven't noticed slayer, there isn't really anywhere else you can hide. You can either agree to sort this out or we can do it the old fashioned way." He clenched his fists as Buffy stopped in her tracks.

"You've got no chance against me with your chip."

"That's where you're wrong. If I want somethin' hard enough, I can work through the pain and I want more than anything to knock some gratefulness into you." Buffy was facing him now, arms locked at her sides.

"Oh you don't know what you've gotten yourself into William." She wasn't sure why she'd used his name in this instance and felt slightly embarrassed about it but Spike didn't seem to notice.

"Why don't you show me slayer?" In her head, Buffy found this conversation becoming more and more erotic by the second and started to like the feeling she got from it but she could only see raw anger in her opponent's eyes. Angry at herself for feeling such things, she launched herself at the scowling vamp and landed a spectacular first punch to his stomach.

"Do your worst!", she taunted. Expecting him to throw a measly punch, not just because of his chip but because of his apparent affection for her, she was surprised when he clocked her cheek with a firm force. Spike clenched his teeth as shocks of pain erupted through his head. Buffy took advantage of the distraction and shoved him backwards into a table which, as a result, shattered into smallish pieces of wood, perfect for staking. He jumped too his feet, brushing the largest chunks of wood aside, and growled as he landed another punch to Buffy's face. He didn't react as badly to the chip firing this time and managed to block the next of Buffy's attacks. He grabbed her throwing arm and twisted it behind her back. They both let out a yelp of pain and she tried to spin free but he had her in a firm hold. With his free hand, Spike yanked her loose hair back, causing her head to rest on his shoulder. He really was conquering the pain now.

"Had enough yet?", he spat through gritted teeth. She smiled.

"You really don't know me at all do you?"

She kneed him in the groin, causing him to automatically release her arm, and headbutted him into the wall. Blood was now trickling from his nose and forehead and from her nose and cheek.

"I think you've proved your point now Spike. Leave me alone before I decide to bust your ass all the way." She relinquished her grip on his duster, a big mistake, as Spike swung her onto the couch. She was temporarily incapacitated and struggled to regain her footing as he walked towards her.

"I don't wanna hurt you love."

"Really?", she gasped as she clutched her aching ribs.

"Maybe you should've thought about that before starting a fight? Not that your stupid attempts to hurt me have worked."

"You sure about that?", he asked staring at her arm. She couldn't bring herself to take it away from her chest in fear of falling over.

"Will you talk to me now?", he asked again.

"I'll think about it", she muttered. Spike was sick of arguing. He walked over to the kitchen and let his duster fall to the floor followed by his shirt, not really caring that Buffy was watching. He had newly formed bruises across his chest and back as well as on his face. He didn't realise that his semi nakedness was affecting Buffy nearly as much as it was. He did have a beautiful build. She disappeared into the bathroom for a shower and slammed the door behind her. Why was she thinking of him like this?

_Evil, skanky, soulless, heartless, bloodthirsty vampire. Not sexy. Not hot okay?_

* * *

**Can you feel that sexual tension building? I sure as hell can!**


	12. Mortal After All

**A\N: I dedicate this chapter to the wonderful person at work that found me the WiFi code. **

* * *

"You decent yet?", Buffy called out from inside the bathroom

"I'm not starkers if that's what you're worried about." It wasn't. It was the mere fact that she might not be able to control herself if she saw even an inch of his bare flesh that worried her. It had been 15 minutes since their little spat. Surely he was dressed now. Braving it, she walked into the attached living room\kitchen and just saw Spike tugging the end of his T-shirt down. The cut on his brow was already starting to heal as were his bruises.

"Don't know why you're so shy. Not like you haven't seen it all already." Buffy turned away as she tried to hide her blush.

"That's gross."

"That's life. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it since..."

"Stop. Right. There", she commanded.

"Finish that sentence and you'll regret the day you were born."

"Ooh tetchy. Was only windin' you up. So you have been thinking about it then? Well, lucky me." Spike approached her slowly. She didn't want to move. Not now she was exactly where, in her darkest dreams, she wanted to be. Spike raked a finger through the ends of her hair and hovered over her mouth. He could hear her heart racing in her chest and didn't need enhanced hearing for that.

"Now I know where you live slayer." He suddenly pulled away leaving her feeling more humiliated than she had ever felt before.

_Fucking asshole. I can't believe he played me like that._

Buffy knew that she had let slip her desires in the worst possible way and now Spike was aware of them. Probably the worst person that could know. Although his face was now hidden behind a cupboard door, Buffy could sense Spike smiling away to himself, having finally been able to get one over on her.

"Pig", she muttered before getting as far across the room from him as she could. She distantly heard the words,

"Oink oink." She decided to bury herself in Miyrid reasearch, which she had been severely lacking in recently apart from the odd useless detail from Giles. Her watcher had sent her relevant pages in various different texts to look at, which were now stacked up by the phone. There was so much written about the Miyrids over time that of course, she had offered to help him out. Only the simple texts however. As she began scanning the first page, she tried to recall the last time she'd had actually had a fun time. It had all been so depressing recently. Partying at The Bronze with Willow and Xander? No there had to be something more recent than that. Having a shopping day with Dawn? Another interpretation of 'fun' wriggled it's way into the furthest reaches of her mind and an image of a bleached blonde vampire appeared. God, this was hopeless. He was in her system and he wasn't going away. Maybe a spell would do it? Just to get rid of all the naughty, lusty thoughts? Or maybe it would just take time. Besides, it'd only been a couple of days since their...thing. Of course she'd be over him in a few more days. She was just lonely and depressed right now. She wasn't thinking clearly. But until then it was just simply the matter of looking only at his face (when necessary) and NOWHERE else on his body and avoiding amazingly fantastic dreams about him! She wasn't really focusesd on the pages in front of her but the word 'mortal' tickled her attention. She reread the sentence and then the paragraph. Hold up, Giles hadn't mentioned anything about them being mortal. How could he have missed this? Still sitting on floor she reached for the phone from the table, bringing it down to her level. She rung Giles' number whilst Spike eyed her suspiciously.

"Hello." The watcher's London accent echoed down the line.

"Giles, it's Buffy."

"Buffy! How are you?"

"I'm okay. I called because I've found some information on the Miyrids."

"Oh? Are you sure it' what you think it is since I haven't had much luck so far. They are ancient creatures so it's very hard to translate and make out the old texts."

"Well this page from that book you sent me? It says that they're mortal so I figured, we gather enough people who can fight and we kill them right?" Spike was watching her very closely now.

"It won't be that simple Buffy. The Miyrids, they've been trained for hundreds of thousands of years learning the latest fighting techniques every day. They're even stronger than you, at your usual strength. A few fighters won't cover it."

"But we can't just..presume that? We've gotta try. Its the only lead we've had in 3 months!"

"Buffy, I am trying but we can't just jump in there all guns blazing. It could be suicide."

"If I was able to I w -" Buffy stopped abruptly. There was something standing outside just across the road. Wait, there was more than one thing. 5 for a matter of fact! She remembered yesterday, moments before she was knocked out. There were 5 Miyrids standing at the other end of the shop. Then it hit her. They'd followed Spike home. Buffy jumped back and dropped the receiver, startling Spike.

"What is it?", he asked.

"Fucking Miyrids that's what!", she yelled. Spike was about to tell her about the protection spell when he recalled what Willow's wicca mate had said. Half a day it would last. 12 hours. Oh shit! He'd been so wrapped up in helping Buffy, that it had completely evaded him that the Miyrids might still be able to find them. Both of their scents had disappeared hours ago and no way were those poncy Miyrids fast enough to catch up with the car. They must've known that they were here somehow.

"Any sort of idea? Any sort of fucking back up plan in case they tracked us down?!", she screamed. Buffy wasn't angry at him as such, she just had no idea how to express her fear. She'd never had to be this terrified before. Spike could only think of one thing to do and it definitely wasn't his first choice.

"Right, we might still have a few minutes. Need you to go pack. Clothes, blankets anything you need and chuck them in a bag. Just make sure you get down to the garage and close the door behind you. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes." Buffy was barely processing the information. He grasped her shoulders and shook her once to get her attention.

"Slayer you need to focus right now!" She nodded distantly.

"C'mon." He lead her into the bedroom, also throwing some basic essentials together. He reached into a drawer and pulled out what looked to be about $1000 and stuffed that into his newly formed getaway bag too. Heturned to look at Buffy for the 5th time in about 30 seconds.

"You got everything?"

"Yeah", she panted.

"Then go down stairs and hide. I won't be long." Suddenly, there was an almighty crash at the door. It caved in with one single blow.

"Where are you going? They're here!", she cried as she clutched onto his arm. Tears were falling down her face in waves now.

"Just go!" He shoved her away and she reluctantly headed towards the stairs without him. She flew down and although in a rush, remembered to silently close the door. She hadn't been down here since the first day they arrived. She clambered amongst the boxes and junk and crouched down to cover herself. She waited for what felt like forever for Spike and eventually he did arrive.

"What the hell were you doing up there?", she whispered as she emerged from the clutter.

"Don't have time to explain sweetness. Just follow me." She didn't have time to argue before he clasped her hand in his and dragged her to the front of the open garage door.

"Car's just over there", he pointed across the road.

"Soon as I say so, run!" They waited for several seconds before the sounds of high pitch shrieking and roaring of flames filled the air.

"Now", he commanded. Buffy didn't know what was going on in the slightest but ran with Spike all the same. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter, but she felt herself trust Spike with her life for a split second. It felt like slow motion as they fled across the road towards the old wreck of a car. It was a cloudy day but the sun was still vaguely shining through gaps in the clouds, causing Spike to sizzle. He opened the back seat doors, throwing both of their bags inside, before pushing Buffy forward to the passenger seat. He clambered into the back seat, not having time to run around to the driver's side before he was positively fried. He made his way through the gap in between the 2 front seats and over the handbrake to reach the driver's seat. The engine roared to life in seconds and they sped down the road, the house that they called home, just few minutes ago, completely and utterly on fire...

* * *

**Please leave a review beautiful people!**


	13. Sleeping Rough

**A\N: So I woke up to find that Beautiful Enemies is now a featured story on Elysian Fields! Thank you everyone who's left likes and reviews! Your support is appreciated more than you know!**

* * *

"I think you can slow down now", Buffy suggested. Spike had been pressing 100mph for an hour now. He ignored her suggestion.

"Ain't risking them catching up with us."

"Have you seen how slow they are? We're miles ahead of them and our..." She repulsed at the word.

"...scents will have gone soon right?" Spike laughed in disbelief.

"That theory worked so well for us last time didn't it?", he snapped. Buffy tucked her knees up to her chest and shifted closer to the door, away from Spike. He'd never known her this quiet. She almost always came back at him with some sort of sarcastic comment or pun.

"Sorry", he grumbled, not sounding too sincere. Buffy still didn't look at him. Instead, she rested the side of her head in her hand and looked at the floor.

"Yeah whatever. So are you actually gonna tell me where we're going this time or am I gonna get dragged off to God knows where again?" Spike was thankful for the subject change.

"Nope. Can't say."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I don't know either. I figured we'd just drive until we found somewhere where we're guaranteed safety." Buffy didn't argue. She kind of preferred the idea of running. At least that way they weren't standing still waiting to be found.

"Where were we then? Back there?"

"Mexico." Buffy's eyebrows shot straight up.

"Mexico? Couldn't have picked somewhere classier?" The vampire let out an unwittingly sensual laugh that created a rush of liquid in between her thighs. He noticed her horrified expression and got ready to pull over.

"You okay?", he asked her.

"Yes! Fine! Just a bit car sick."

"You want me to pull over?"

"No. I said I'm fine. Just keep driving."

* * *

"We've got money for places to stay on the way right?", she questioned after a few minutes. She didn't understand why a glimmer of amusement shone out through Spike's eyes.

"Only got a grand love and that's gonna run out pretty quick. It'd be a lot cheaper to sleep in the car. At least until we're getting some sort of income." It made sense but the thought of sleeping within a close proximity of Spike was unnerving.

"We could always go back to Sunnydale?", she suggested. Suddenly, Spike slammed on the brakes, causing them both to lurch forward.

"Are you completely off your bird? That'd be the first place the buggers would look for us?"

"There would be more of us! Maybe not all fighters, but we'd stand a better chance at trying to get rid of the Miyrids! It hasn't been plain sailing up until now has it?"

"You'd also be putting them in danger by going back. You've seen what the Miyrids will do to get to you." That was a reason that hadn't occurred to Buffy before. She'd seen Spike putting his life on the line for her but hadn't really considered what would happen if she went back. The car still stationary, Spike turned to face a pale looking slayer.

"3 months I've protected you and still you don't trust me to do the right thing. What else do I have to do?" She was looking him in the eyes now, which was a start, but didn't say anything.

"I still hate your guts Summers but I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." On the surface, this statement would've seemed like a complete and utter contradiction of itself but somehow it made perfect sense to Buffy. Why? Because she was feeling it too...

* * *

That night on the outskirts, in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a couple of blankets, it was freezing. Even Spike could feel a slight chill to the air. However, Buffy had the windows wound down, trying to cool down. Her cheeks were rosy red but her skin was ice cold. They both shuffled around in the back seat uncomfortably.

"You seriously tellin' me your warm woman?"

"Yes", she panted, wiping a cold sweat from her brow. Suddenly, Spike had a thought. He considered whether to act on it or not for a few seconds before going ahead.

"C'mere", he mumbled before placing the back of his hand on her brow.

How was she hot? Her skin was even colder than his? He only came to one conclusion.

"Yeah, you're sick. Typical at a time like this."

"No. I-I just need to cool down." She was still panting.

"What you need is to get tucked up under a blanket before you're fingers fall off too. Was human once y'know. I did get sick."

Buffy was looking at Spike in a predatory way now which slightly worried him.

"Just shut up and don't say anything", she mumbled before moving closer to him and snuggling down against his chest. Spike automatically leant backward, not knowing what the slayer was playing at. .

"This isn't my favourite idea in the world either but I nee-need you to cool me down okay?", she stuttered.

"Kay", he responded, nervously. He slowly lowered one arm around her back and used his other hand to bring a blanket over her shivering frame.

"Still need the blanket though", he reminded.

"Fine."

He didn't know what to do with his free hand so rested it across her waist, making sure that she didn't accidentally fall away in the night. He felt her ragged warm breath through his shirt and it began to slow. He found it oddly comforting, knowing that she was there. Luckily for her, she wouldn't be sick for long but Spike had an overwhelming urge to keep an eye on her constantly whilst she was but at the same time didn't want to be responsible for taking away her last shreds of dignity too. She would never allow it even for one second either.

* * *

Buffy'd had a dream and lusty, naughty feeling free night. Rather than being too hot, she was now too cold and she had a niggling headache. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking at a horizontal view of the back of the front seat. That was odd. She swear she fell asleep upright last night. That was when she felt someone squirming in their sleep behind her, their arm draped protectively over her waist. She only slept beside Spike to keep cool. No way did she remember them lying down together. She ripped herself from beside Spike, waking him up with a start. She gripped the blanket to the front of her body as if she was waking up naked with him again. Buffy opened the car door and scrambled out to get into the front. Spike remained in his lying down position, propped up by his elbows. Was she gonna be like this every time he was even the slightest bit nice to her? Besides, she was the one that made the first move...yet again. Buffy jumped in the front and slammed the door with a frustrated thud.

"We better get driving. We need food a-and I should get to a payphone and call Giles. He'll want to know what's happened."

Spike let out an exasperated sigh. He threw his duster into the front seat, making Buffy jump at his sudden movement, and then followed, joining her in the front.

"Guess so"...


	14. On The Road Again

Spike had been sitting in the Desoto on his own in the middle of a rainstorm for about 20 minutes now. Buffy had insisted on going to the payphone on her own even though Spike wasn't sure that they should separate at all for the time being. In the end, he'd given in but still wasn't at ease with the whole idea. She'd been gone too long now and he was half tempted to go and look for her. Just his luck, she would be fine and heading straight back here now. He'd been telling himself this for 10 minutes. He had to get some piece of mind somehow. He leant forward and pressed a button in front of him and suddenly The Sex Pistols began to blare out of the speakers. It wasn't his preferred choice of music right now but it was the only tape he had with him and it was better than the harrowing noise of the storm. He drummed his fingers furiously on the steering wheel, trying to tune out his thoughts and refrain from staring out of the window when suddenly the passenger door swung open and in slumped a drenched Buffy. Water was dripping off of every single inch of her and the paper bag she was holding was almost torn.

"Thought it made sense to get the food while I was out!", she yelled over the music as she threw the bag into the back. Spike continued tapping but in a less anxious rhythm.

"Can you turn that crap off?"

The vampire signed but reached over to shut off the music.

"You really have no taste in music slayer."

"I hardly call a collection of loud noises that deafen people music." She began to ring her hair out and water splashed over the seats.

"Hey! Not over the leather!"

"I'm already sick. I'm not getting sicker because you want to protect your stupid seats."

"Use a blanket at least!"

Buffy scowled at him.

"Fine. But I'm using yours. You can't get cold."

Spike went to protest but Buffy had already launched into the back seat.

Spike had always been outside smoking when she'd seized the opportunity to change but it didn't seem likely that he'd be going outside in this weather any time soon.

"Don't look", she demanded. Spike made a disgusted noise with his mouth.

"You're alright slayer." Spike shuffled down in his seat so that she wasn't in view of the rearview mirror. Deep down, he didn't trust himself not to look. If his heart could beat right now, it would be loud enough to heard miles away as the rustling in the back became more distinctive. It took him all of his self control not to turn around. Suddenly, a bag of blood came flying over his head and landed in his lap. She rejoined him in the front soon after, a boxed salad in her hands. She'd changed into a plain white blouse and bootleg demin jeans, a red check jacket thrown over her shoulders.

"You know how awkward it was going into the butcher's just to buy pig's blood? I was being looked at like I was some sort of freak. You're doing the shopping next time."

"Fine with me love. At least then I can buy blood that I know's fresh." Spike fiddled with the bag, purposely trying to avoid opening it.

"It's still drinkable right?"

Spike's brow furrowed.

"Just."

She threw her plastic fork at him.

"Then drink. We can't afford to get picky."

Spike reluctantly ripped the top of the bag open and downed the thick, sticky liquid in one. Buffy watched in grotesque.

"Pig. Did I not mention to drink it sparingly?"

Spike ignored her and therw the empty packet on the floor.

"So what did Rupey say then?"

Buffy's face fell at the mention of the phone call.

"He was concerned obviously and wants us to go back."

Spike turned his head a few degrees towards her, as if hinting to what she had said.

"I-I said that we couldn't. That it was still too dangerous." There was a brief pause.

"You've done the right thing. Until we can figure out how to stop these buggers, I don't think it's safe to stay anywhere permanently. We'll have to keep moving."

"We could be going forever. Especially if Giles can't contact us with new information. We need a cell at least."

"Sounds like a plan. Unless the Miyrids are phone hackers."

Buffy went pale at Spike's suggestions.

"I was jokin slayer."

"Yeah well don't joke! Not about stuff like this."

"Alright slayer, don't get your knickers in a twist."

That comment didn't help Buffy's already over active and imaginative mind either.

"Just drive alright?", she snapped. Spike's foot was already on the accelerator before she'd even finished the sentence...

* * *

A routine of sleeping, eating and a lot of driving ensued over the next few weeks. Spike had remained generally sarcasm free and in return Buffy had tried to keep her snappiness under control. It wasn't always possible however.

"Give it to me!", she squealed. Buffy and Spike were in the back seat, Spike trying desperately to keep their newly acquired phone out of Buffy's reach.

"No! You've been calling Giles twice a day for 2 weeks straight. It ain't gonna help. Giles will phone when he's got news. You're driving yourself crazy. Spike was almost on his back, his hand high over his head. Buffy was trying her best to snatch the cell without leaning over him.

"Not. Funny", she muttered, trying not to giggle. Was she actually lasughing with Spike? She made one last attempt to grab the phone.

He snapped back his hand, causing her to fall forward, only just stopping herself from falling onto him completely by supporting herself with her hands. Spike was now completely laid across the seats, a panting Buffy hovering over him and blocking any way of getting up. His right leg was bent and his arms were now down by his sides. Her hair was dangling over him, almost touching his cheeks. His eyes captured hers and for the first time, she saw him in a completely new light. Someone who wasnt trying to make her life more difficult more than it already was but someone trying to make her laugh, make her happy, make her smile when she didn't really have anything to smile about. Spike wasn't sure what to do. Should he try and get her off of him or leave her to make the move? She still wasn't moving back after 10 seconds but edging closer. He knew how this would end if he responded.

"Slayer. You might wanna..."

Buffy suddenly recalled where she was, why she was here, who she was with.

"Yeah. Sorry." She hopped off of him and stepped forward into the front passenger seat.

"S'okay." He tried to lighten the mood.

"You're still not gettin' that phone back."

Buffy laughed weakly, still reeling from her own actions. Why had she lingered? Spike noticed her discomfort.

"Listen, don't worry about it yeah? You fell."

His avoidance of what had just happened was making things worse...


	15. For Instance

**A\N: Getting less and less feedback and I want t know whether you guys are enjoying the story or not. Don't be afraid to suggest any improvements. Anything you've noticed.**

* * *

"I know we can't keep ignoring this", Buffy admitted, surprising Spike.

"It's not doing us any favours trying to avoid each other whenever...something happens."

Frustration was building up in the pit of Spike's stomach.

"And what exactly is happening Buffy? You make it sound like we've been jumping each other's bones every bleedin' day! It was once. Not my fault you're holdin' onto a mistake we made in the past and lettin' it get in the way."

Buffy turned around in her seat to face him. He was slouched against the door in the back.

"Get in the way of what?"

"I dunno? This. Us. Whatever it is we have. Not friendship but..."

Was it just her or was there a slight chill comim over? Not that Spike could feel it anyway.

"Well what are we gonna do? Doesn't seem like there's much we can do to make things less...awkward."

Spike shuffled forward and poked his head through the gap in between the 2 front seats.

"Yeah there is. You can move on and not let what happened make things awkward."

She couldn't move on. There was no point in lying about it. It was time to put her cards on the table.

"What if, for instance, I couldn't move on."

Spike shook his head.

"Sure you can. Only thing stopping it is you."

He was completely missing the point, stupid vampire.

"No. I mean let's say what if I genuinely couldn't bring myself to move on. If I thought about it all the time and a certain part of me didn't wanna move on. What would you say?"

Spike stared at her with increasing interest, as he tried to figure her out.

"I'd say who the bloody hell are you and what have you done with Buffy Summers?"

Her stare was frozen on him.

"Good job I can move on then." She sounded less confident than she'd have liked to have sounded.

What the fuck was she doing? A matter of minutes ago, she'd decided to be completely honest with him. Now she was running away from everything like the scared little girl she was.

"We've been here for a few hours now. We should get moving."

Spike wasn't listening, still staring at her in awe.

"Buffy..."

"Are you gonna drive or what?", she snapped. She was freaking out now.

_Please stop. Please stop._

Spike wasn't anywhere near done quizzing her.

"Why didn't you -", he started but Buffy had already leapt out of the car before he'd finished his sentence. She realised that the skies were cloudy and grey. Not a hint of sunshine was present.

_The one time I needed it to be friggin' sunny!_

Spike was hot on her trail in seconds. What would he say? How would he react? Would he be angry? Amused? Sympathetic? Suddenly, a strong hand caught her forearm and spun her around. She tried to squirm out of his grasp and pull away from him but he wasn't having her run off alone. Especially over something like this. A small spark from his chip shot through his head but it was bearable. His next move was something neither of them had expected. His lips captured hers in what started off as a simple kiss but soon turned into a passionate clinch. Okay. This wasn't exactly the reaction she'd expected but it was better than being told that she was a stupid little girl right? No! This was worse! Things were only gonna become 10x more complicated now! Before she could think of another reason to stop, Spike's tounge began to glide past her lips washing away any other thoughts. He released the grip on her forearm and his hands began to roam her back, her waist and eventually her rear. Her's ran through his bleached blonde hair, untucking the locks from their constrictive waxy prison. They were standing in the middle of the street where anyone could be watching but they couldn't be giving more of a damn if they tried. Buffy felt heat coming from above and realised that the clouds were parting and making way for the sun. She broke the kiss.

"The sun", she breathlessly yelled, still dazed from recent events. Spike tilted his head upwards to see an orange glow slowly appearing.

"Oh bugger." They were still about 10 metres from the car. Buffy quickly grabbed him by the opening of his shirt and began to drag him when he made no attempt to move. They were making progress but the sun was still catching up with them. The vampire had begun to sizzle by the time they'd reached the Desoto. Buffy swung the back door open violently and threw him inside. It wasn't the most comfortable of landings but that didn't matter right now. Never had Buffy been more thankful for the ugly blacked out windows. Spike gripped his slightly charred left hand, wincing in pain every time he touched it or it accidentally brushed it against something. Buffy didn't risk opening the back door again so entered using the front. She noticed him trying to nurse the reddened back of his hand and reached for a bottle of water from the glovebox. He shuffled up makinfg room for her in the back, and she joined him. Water wasn't a miracle cure for burns but at the end of the day it was all they had. She dropped a splash of it on. Even that caused him too hiss through his teeth. Neither of them uttered a single word as she tried her best to soothe the raw skin.

"It'll be okay. Just give it a few days to patch up and you'll be as good as new", she explained after doing as much as she could.

"Happens all the time. No biggy." Spike prepared himself for Buffy's imminent avoidance of what had just happened.

"Isn't this the part where you're supposed to tell me to start driving", he presumed bitterly. Buffy felt a sudden lump of guilt slide down her throat. "You shouldn't have to. None of what happened is your fault. Just me making a big deal out of it."

"Finally sussed that have you?"

She didn't say anything.

"Didn't think you'd admit to being wrong. Don't worry, you may not have said it but I can tell you want us to get moving." He began to move away when Buffy leant forward and tenderly planted a kiss on his lips. He drew away almost as soon as her lips touched his.

"It's pointless hiding how I feel anymore. I want you."

Spike was reluctant to follow down this path. For Buffy's sake more than his. He was 99.9% sure that she'd wake up in the morning full of regret and disgust. She went to reach for his face but his hand flew up to grab her wrist.

"No. We both know how this is going to end. You're just gonna find some bloody excuse to run off again.

She was tired of running now. Spike's kiss had reassured her that she wasn't the only one with feelings.

She shook her head.

"Not today. Doesn't make sense to run. My life is already one big race right now..."

* * *

**I would be really grateful for the reviews please!**


	16. Nothing Else Has Changed

**A\N: You can all breathe a sigh of relief in this chapter..**

* * *

"Okay, you were definitely holding back the first time", Buffy insisted to Spike. It had been a couple of hours since her embarrassing confession. She really hadn't wanted it to come out that way. To be honest, she hadn't really planned on it coming out at all but it had. Lukily Spike was cool with it. 2 hours of spur of the moment, passionate sex in the back seat meant he was cool with it right?

"Maybe. Were you?"

She wasn't prepared for that question.

"Maybe."

_No you mean Buffy._

The truth is, Buffy had given it her all on their first time. She knew for a fact that he hadn't. Today he was 10x more energetic as well as being 10x more exhausted by the end. She rolled off of the vampire and lay on her side next to him. It would've been too fidgety to turn around and lie facing him so Spike suddenly found himself spooning her. Her natural scent of coconut and vanilla was stronger than it usually was, tingling his nostrils. Vampire senses weren't always a bad thing. He watched as her heavy eyelids slowly fluttered shut over the next couple of minutes.

"I take that as a sign that you're not ready to go again?", he teased. She kicked his shin whilst trying to hold back a giggle.

"You're lucky you got an hour out of me."

Spike began to slowly work his arms around her chest when a muffled ring suddenly became audible. Buffy shot straight upwards when she recognised the phone's ringtone.

"Crap! Where did you put it?"

Spike was now sitting up too.

"I dunno. Think I left it on the seat."

Buffy scrambled around the rear of the car, tossing around discarded clothes until finally she found the cell in the foot well. She didn't risk checking the caller ID and missing the call so she flipped the phone open straight away.

"Hello?"

"Buffy, it's Giles."

"Giles? Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes. I just thought it odd that you hadn't called today. Recently you've seemed to be asking about the Miyrid progress everyday."

Buffy blushed and Spike felt the heat rising from her skin. He couldn't hear what Giles was saying but he had a pretty good guess as to why she was getting all flustered.

"Oh right. Uh. It's just been a bit of a busy day. I was gonna call you actually."

Spike bit his lip to keep from laughing. He eyed Buffy's exposed back and couldn't resist making life a little more difficult for her on the phone. She had to keep from squealing as the vampire trailed his lips up her spine, along her collar bone and around to her throat. He began nipping at the sensitive skin there at which point Buffy tried to waft him away whilst trying to maintain a focused conversation with her watcher. She wasn't able to keep him away for long whenever she did shove him far enough back however. His annoying yet pleasurable presence continued for another 5 minutes.

"Okay. Give my love to everyone. Thanks Giles. Bye." She let out an exhausted sigh once the line went dead. Spike looked up at her, a smug smile gracing his lips. Buffy wasn't impressed.

"Do you know how close he was to noticing that something was up?"

"Yeah well, I know how to make you squirm but not squeal", he murmured against her skin.

"If this is gonna carry on, we're gonna have to be careful."

"This?"

"Yeah this. Maybe I should've made it clear about this only being casual?"

Spike was surprised. He'd never have guessed Buffy was that kind of girl.

"Sure. Don't see me complaining."

"And don't think this changes anything else either."

"Why would it? You're isolated from your friends, need a bit of comfort every now and then. I'm down with that."

"It's not like that."

Spike reached for Buffy and turned her around to face him before sliding her onto his lap.

"Why don't you enlighten me then pet?"

Buffy leant over and devoured his mouth for several seconds before pulling away again.

"Does that answer your question?"

Spike shrugged and pursed his lips.

"It's a start I suppose."

"Looks like you're gonna have to wait a while for the full answer then."

The vampire pouted.

"And here's me thinking you were done playing hard to get."

Buffy had started to get dressed now.

"I wouldn't call it 'hard to get'. More like making you wait."

Once she was dressed, she rummaged in one of their bags and pulled out 2 bags of blood.

"What happened to sparingly?", he asked.

Buffy snorted at him.

"You kidding me? You need all the strength you can get after this morning. If you're that exhausted."

To her annoyance, Spike took her teasing with a pinch of salt.

"Can sleep it off."

"Not if your driving you can't."

Suddenly, Spike had an idea that he knew she wouldn't react well to. Wasn't his fault that she'd completely walked into this one.

"Tell you what pet, you've watched me drive for long enough. Now it's your turn. Gives me the chance to get some kip."

The next expression on Buffy's face was one he'd never forget.

"You're not being serious?"

"Not that hard. Gives you some practice too."

"If I do this, you owe me."

A seductive smirk appeared on his lips. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice as she searched the floor for his jeans. She chucked them at him, the zipper almost catching his cheek.

"Don't think you're getting any sleep until you've taught me how to drive this rust bucket."

Spike was offended.

"Hey! This car's been with me since before you were born pet."

"Still a rust bucket..."

* * *

It took several days for Buffy to start driving confidently but Spike was continuously irritated by her low speeds. He'd tried to regain control of the wheel many times but of course, Buffy had refused. Driving them around was the one thing Buffy felt she was useful for in all this and wasn't willing to give up her new found job without a fight. She still didnt understand how Spike could see through a tiny gap in the windscreen when driving himself. Giles was still calling at least once a day, informing both the slayer and the vampire of new information. Day by day, he was discovering new weaknesses and tactics to defeat the Miyrids but they were still a while off from putting a plan into action. Life with Spike was becoming more bareable now too so she didn't mind. Not just because they were at each other's throats less and replacing the fighting with various sexcapades but because he was easier to talk to now. They were beginning to understand each other more and appreciate the other in ways that they once never thought possible. They were almost coming to seeing each other as close acquaintances. Spike was currently taking the opportunity to sleep as Buffy drove down the highway towards the nearest restaurant. They'd been driving for miles and hadn't even passed one building. Not even a gas station. They both hadn't eaten in 12 hours, Spike refusing to eat without Buffy even though blood wasn't exactly something that made her hungry, and were praying for some sort of food place every corner they turned. She should've expected absolutely nothing in the deserts of Arizona. Arizona. Then it dawned on her. She had the choice whether or not to follow the signs back to California, back to Sunnydale. God knows she wanted to. She was so close but yet so far from home. Then she remembered what Spike had said. What Giles had reminded so many times. No matter how much she was missing everyone, she knew that there might not be anyone around for long if she went back. Buffy lost focus on the road and drove over a large stone, causing the car to shake and wake Spike up.

"What was that?", he grumbled sleepily.

"Just a rock. Don't worry about it." However, it seemed like Spike had quite a bit to worry about as the car began to bump along the road and steadily slow to a halt.

"Pull over", he demanded. Buffy carefully steered onto the edge of the road, the car very tilted now and dragging along the tarmac. Spike began to pull on the handle when Buffy grabbed his arm.

"Do you wanna burn up? I'll check", she insisted.

He squinted at the indirect sunlight that leaked in when Buffy climbed out.

There was silence for about a minute as Buffy disappeared round the front of the car.

"What's the prognosis doc?", he called out to her. There was no reply.

"Slayer?"

Still none.

"Buffy!"

* * *

**Did I say you could breathe a sigh of relief?...**


	17. Help

**A\N: Sorry for the week wait. Work and travel has been my daily excitement for 7 days.**

******Wow! Beautiful Enemies has been nominated for 3 categories at the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards! Thank you!**

**Enjoy!**

**Please review!**

* * *

"Buffy!", he yelled yet again.

Suddenly, he let out a huge sigh of relief at the sound of her voice from around the corner.

"What?! I'm gone for like a minute and you assume I've been taken!"

"Well when we've got homicidal demons that will stop at nothing to pop your clogs on our trail then yeah I assume there's a problem alright?"

"The only problem we've got is a busted tyre. That rock we ran over must've done it. Shit!"

Spike probably would've hit the roof at this news if it wasn't for the scare that he'd just had.

"You insured?", she mumbled, already guessing the answer.

"Never needed to be. Could always steal myself new parts or a new car if I needed to couldn't I? Can't in the middle of a bloody desert."

Buffy slumped back into the car and pulled out the cell phone.

"I'm calling Recovery. Let's just hope they can find us."

* * *

A few minutes later, a reasonably successful call had taken place with the recovery team and they were on their way.

"Guessin' they might be a while pet."

"No! Really? she snapped sarcastically. The last few months with Spike, she'd always had something to do or be getting on with but now she and him were sitting ducks. She could only think of one thing to pass the time but she wanted to keep those activities to the minimum as much as possible. She didn't want to find herself relying on Spike's comfort on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the vampire was having the same idea.

"Y'know there is one thing we can do while we wait", he suggested.

"No Spike", she said decisively. She suddenly realised how final that sounded and tried to retrace her steps.

"They'd probably turn up before we'd finished."

Spike thought about this for a moment.

"I can be quick when I need to be."

She looked at him in disgust.

"Ew gross Spike."

With that, she climbed into the back to get away from the vile vamp. He was quick on her trail and before she knew it, he had lifted her into his lap so that she was straddling him. He was propped up against the seat, his menacing eyes looking straight into the darkest corners of her. She made no attempt to pull away after unwittingly rubbing against the bulge in his jeans, causing the friction that was undeniably pleasurable.

"Not now", she whispered weakly.

"Not convincin' me much slayer."

He began working at the buttons on her shirt, leaning in to nuzzle her neck at the same time. The touch of his cool lips on her hot, sticky skin was a welcome relief from the heat. She moaned softly into his ear as her hands began to roam up his back and into his hair. The intenser his kisses became on her throat, the more her fingers dag into his scalp. Simple kneading became clawing and then became kneading again when Spike relaxed the nips on her neck every so often. Her hands released the tufts of hair that they had collected and trailed back down to his waist where they grabbed the end of his shirt and began to pull upwards. The loss of his touch, as she yanked the tee over his head, made her whimper but not enough for Spike to notice. He gladly shrugged the clothing off and pressed his chest against hers. She was mostly exposed on her top half apart from her bra which he made short work of. Lust overpowered the impatient vamp and he lowered her across the length of the back seat, entwining his fingers with hers as he pinned her arms above her head. His lips were further from hers than she would've liked so leant up and surprised him by slipping her tounge straight between his lips and battling him for dominance. Her hands still weren't freed no matter how hard she tugged.

"Don't become a sales rep love", he panted. Buffy was confused at where this sudden comment had come from at first.

"You're rubbish at trying to get your point across."

She punished him for his snide remark by wrapping her still clothed legs around his waist and squeezing not too tightly but not too loosely either. She knew the torturous teasing drove him insane. She bit very lightly at his bottom lip as he moaned.

"Are we gonna do this or are you just gonna make stupid comments?"

Spike released his grip on one of her hands and drew an imaginary zipper across his lips before trapping her wrist yet again. She was annoyed at her missed opportunity to take charge of the situation but also enjoyed him being in power. It made things all the more unpredictable.

"With pleasure."

His glorious words sent shivers down her spine. Even more so when he began to move down her body...

* * *

The pair barely had time to dress before the recovery truck arrived. Luckily, they were able to sort out the tyre problem there and then for an apparently 'small' fee. Buffy hated to think what their idea of a big fee was. At least they didn't have to wait around for hours, maybe days for repairs to be carried out. As the slayer counted their steadily declining stash of cash, Spike realised just how tight money was becoming. They had to get some one way or another.

"What's the verdict love?", he asked, still fidlling with his half undone shirt from earlier.

"$300? Maybe a little more?"

Spike's draw jaw dropped a few millimetres. 300? How long had they been out here? 2 weeks? 3? 4? He'd lost count but surely they hadn't spent $700!

"You got any ideas?", she sighed.

"Got one. You ain't gonna like it..."

* * *

**Please review if at all possible!**


	18. Everything Used To Be So Clear

**A\N: Quote from Seeing Red...no don't worry it's not what you think let me tell you now before you run off and abandon this story forever. Nothing like what happened in the bathroom scene will ever happen in my writing.**

**Prepare for the opening paragraph to throw you a little...**

* * *

Buffy was awake but only just. As soon as Spike had found her, she had blacked out and that had been 3 hours ago. She wondered whether the searing pain racking her body was something to do with her lack of consciousness. She recognised their surroundings as a car but not the Desoto. It smelt a lot worse too. Distorted speech echoed in her ears for minutes but she couldn't make anything out. It didn't matter for too long however as the physicall pain in her body intensified beyond whatever she'd imagined. She didn't even have the energy to cry out in agony...

* * *

_Half an hour earlier..._

"So you think that just because you're doing right by me, you have the right to steal?!", Buffy bellowed.

Spike raised his arms in protest.

"It ain't about me trying to make myself feel better for stealin'. To be honest love, I couldn't give a toss about rippin' off anyone. We need the money and you know it."

Buffy couldn't believe that she'd even let herself think about the possibility of Spike changing.

"I can't believe you!"

"Hello? Soulless creature of the night here? I do what I need to survive and, in this case, what I need to do to protect you."

"You don't care about me! At the end of the day, you're only ever out to save your own ass! Why am I even still out here with you? I can only just deal with the fact that you're a selfish, tamed vampire that would probably rip my throat out if you had the chance. But now you wanna take away hard earned money from innocent people that haven't ever done anything to you?"

Spike continued to deliver an unsympathetic stare. That was it.

"Get the fuck out!"

"What?"

"You heard me Spike! Get the hell out of this car! You're lucky that I'm not throwing you out into the sun!"

Spike was honestly shocked to the core. After everything he'd done for her. After everything he was trying to do. She was getting rid of him?

"You won't survive bloody 2 minutes when the Miyrids catch up to you."

Buffy reached over, shoved opened the door on his side and pushed him out. He stared up at her from his slouched position on the road.

"That's not your problem anymore. Go find someone else's life to ruin!" As she slammed the door, she was close to trapping his leg but he instinctively rolled out of the way, regretting it almost instantly as he accidentally gave her the opportunity to drive away. She was well on her way once he'd reached his feet.

"Bollocks!", he screamed across the desert, kicking a stray rock as he did so.

* * *

Tears coursed down Buffy's cheeks as she sped across the desert. She thought she'd be glad to get rid of the nurtured vamp but instead she felt more alone than ever after only 25 minutes. Her nails clawed at the fabric of the steering wheel as she prayed for signs leading her back to California. Giles would know what to do. Her eyes were blurred with water so she struggled to find the phone, which she remembered dumping in the foot well after calling the recovery team. She shakily punched in Giles' number after succesfully rummaging around for the cell for a couple of minutes. The dialing tone continued for what felt like an eternity. Buffy called out before the watcher had time to speak.

"Giles?", she sniffed.

"Buffy? What's happened?"

"I'll explain later. I'm coming back to Sunnydale. I'll be there within a day or so."

"What are you talking about? Why? How does Spike feel about this?"

Buffy felt like screaming at the sound of his name.

"He's not here."

Anger entered Giles' voice.

"I knew he'd leave you eventually. We never should have let you go with him."

Buffy hated Spike more than she'd ever done right now but she didn't want Giles thinking that he hadn't done his best for her these past few months.

"No, no. I left him." She made it sound like a breakup. Well maybe it was a breakup in a way.

"I realised that..."

She had to lie. No way was her breif 'thing' with Spike going to be exposed.

"I realised that we weren't getting anywhere just running away. Spike didn't see it so I left him behind."

That was partly true. She'd wanted to return home for months but Spike had always talked her out of it.

A fresh set of tears were building up behind her swollen, puffed up eyes as she recognised something distinctively like a sigh from her watcher's side of the line.

"I don't think I need to tell you how risky it was running off on your own."

"I know", she agreed.

"But I'll be okay. If I just keep driving-"

Buffy didn't remember slamming the brakes on but the car had jolted to a halt and she was thrown forward, her head missing the dashboard by inches. The car didn't look damaged and nothing was in front of her so what-. Then she noticed it. The black hooded figure that had haunted her nightmares and fears for months. She searched frantically for the phone, her heart hammering. The phone's exterior was visible but the battery was lost. The screeching of the car engine blocked out her screams of frustration. No matter how hard she tried, it wasn't starting up. She looked up through the mucky windscreen to spot more and more Miyrids spreading out across the road, blocking any way of her getting past them. Spike's stupid car was in no state to be driven so she could only see 2 choices. Run back the way she came, with a 2% chance of getting away, or sit here and do nothing which came with an 100% guarantee of death. She'd just made it out the door when something swept her legs out from underneath her. A nerve tingling crack ensued as her shoulder took the full brunt of her fall. She screamed in pain and grasped her shoulder to stop it from moving. She could only describe the sensation as her shoulder blade being hauled over broken glass. She was flipped onto her back, sending even more shots of pain through her arm. Standing above her were 3 Miyrids, the central one dangling a knife above her. She had a strange sense of Déjà Vu over this situation. She didn't know why. She'd never been lying in the middle of a desolate desert road with a dislocated shoulder and about to be turned inside out by a knife by some ancient chaos seeking demons had she?

Wait. This was her vision. Her vision from all those months ago. If it really was, then someone should be turning up to save her right about...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the distant site of someone running towards her. She knew the flare of that black duster anywhere...

* * *

_25 minutes earlier..._

Spike was sat at the edge of the road, head resting on his arm. He'd expected a pretty bad reaction from Buffy but no way had he thought that she'd be stupid enough to run off without him. Now he was stuck here in the back end of beyond with no car, no blood, no phone and no way of helping Buffy if she got herself into trouble. Knowing her, she would. He kicked a nearby pile of sand.

"Stupid, stubborn bitch", he muttered.

"Let her get herself killed. Saves me the job of hunting her down and ending her once and for all. Shoulda' never let her get into my head. This isn't how it works. Everything used to be so clear. Slayer. Vampire. Vampire kills Slayer, sucks her dry, picks his teeth with her bones." The unwanted silence was broken by the growling of a rusty old 4x4, slowly dragging up the road. Before he could even take a moment to recall why he'd just told himself, Spike jumped up and threw himself in the oncoming path of the truck. He needed to save her. Spike squinted at the screeching of the breaks as the worn down tyres skidded to a halt. The shell shocked driver's gaze followed Spike as the vampire ran to his window. He tapped the glass to begin with but began to bang on it with his palm when the man didn't roll it down. The startled driver instantly wound it down as Spike's manner became threatining.

"Listen mate, don't have time to explain but I need you to do as I say and give me a ride."

The man couldn't say anything as Spike hopped into the back seat and patted the front head rest.

"Drive as fast as this banger will go!", he yelled.

Before Spike could utter another syllable, he was thrown backwards by the sudden acceleration of the vehicle. If they kept pressing onwards at this speed, surely they'd catch up with Buffy soon. He just hoped that she was okay..

* * *

**Please review! **


	19. Right As Rain

**A\N: Yes I'm awful for not updating in 2 weeks. I'm sorry. I've just been getting back into the swing of school. In my final year. Just that little thing called life getting in the way again...**

**Quote from 'The Gift'...**

* * *

25 minutes later...

God this was hopeless. The still terrified man in the 4x4 had been driving at 80 for almost half an hour and there was still no sight of Buffy or the Desoto. No matter how confident Buffy had thought she was behind the wheel, Spike had never seen her travel above 40 for a long period of time so any second now he would find her right? He'd been telling himself this for the last 15 minutes. As they passed yet another non Desoto looking car, the vampire slammed his palm down on the seat. The already on edge driver jumped a little at the sudden movement from the intruder in the back seat and began to accelerate more. Spike barely noticed, his eyes still glued to the road ahead. He fumbled around in his pocket in hope of finding a spare cigarette. It was unlikely, considering how strict Buffy had been on not wasting money on 'unnecessary luxuries'. She could think what she wanted but in his opinion ciggies were a basic human, maybe a poor choice of word, right. Especially in a situation like this. Luckily, he found one right at the bottom. Sure it was broken in half but that wasn't exactly an issue right now. Half a smoke was better than none at all. The death stick flew out of his hand as the car slowed. At first, Spike thought it was a speed bump but soon realised that the car has stopped altogether.

"What the bleedin' hell do you think you're doing?! Get movin'!", he yelled. Then he noticed what had caught the driver's attention. 3 dark figures looming over a helpless blonde girl in a threatening manner. Spike almost threw himself out the car as he began hurtling towards the clearly terrified teen. The knife hanging above her was slowly inching closer to her body in the Miyrids hand. He had no clue how he was going to get her away from them. There wasn't just 1 but 3 of them in Buffy's immediate area not to mention the other 5 in the not too distant background. Could he just swoop in and grab her or would he have to incapacitate them first? He could tell that she had noticed him running towards her and the poor woman was now trying desperately to shuffle backwards. For some reason she was only using one arm to move and wasn't escaping very successfully. He collided with the Miyrid on his right, sending the unprepared demon toppoling into the one with the knife. However, his plan hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped when the Miryrids still stood tall and more pissed off than ever. Suddenly, the whole pack let out a primal howl which even scared Spike slightly. It was unlike anything he'd heard in his hundred odd years of being around countless demons and monsters.

* * *

The driver, still staring in awe and shock at the Miyrids, began to make a U turn and abandon the mysterious man, who'd hijacked his car, but made the unwise decision to stick around after seeing how distressed the woman on the ground was and how hard Spike was trying to rescue her. He was a sucker for helping people out.

* * *

Spike took advantage of the Miyrids' distraction, as they continued to stare and scream at him, and hauled Buffy off of the ground but not before the Miyrid with the knife got wind of what they were doing and took a swing at Buffy with the knife. The knife was at the right distance and angle to plunge deep into her belly but luckily, Spike was able to dramatically reduce the severity of her wound by pulling her away from them. The blade still sliced into the flesh of her stomach however, causing her to holler. She continued to wail as Spike unwittingly applied pressure to her dislocated shoulder as he desperately tried to get her to the 4x4, which he was glad to see was still parked and waiting for them.

"Don't."

Spike glanced at her but didn't stop walking.

"You're off your rocker if you think you're goin' off on your own again. Won't let it happen."

"Let go of me!", she cried out as he tugged firmly on her arm. Spike released his grip on her as he realised that she was genuinely in pain and not just being difficult.

"C'mon, we don't have time for this!" Before she had time to protest, he'd picked her up and was soon running towards the truck with her in his arms. The truck driver had begun to drive off as soon as Spike had seated himself and Buffy in the backseat. He quickly analysed Buffy's out of place shoulder, his eyes then speedily dropping to the small blood stain slowly spreading out across her shirt. She was curled up in a ball, her good arm around her legs and slowly nodding off, her head lolling about from side to side. He didn't want to disturb her but also didn't want to leave her shoulder out of it's socket for any longer than it had to be.

* * *

He ended up leaving her to rest for another 3 hours. 1 of those was filled with an awkward silence between him and the driver. He was thinking of a way to be rid of the driver without killing him but he wasn't getting any inspiration. Once upon a time, him and Dru would've come up with a 100 grisly ways to end someone's life but of course that was all in the past now. Chip or no chip, he'd lost a majority of his demon when his dark princess had left him for good.

"What was all that back there?", a deep Texan accent asked suddenly. The driver had finally plucked up the courage to speak to him. He knew that the man wouldn't understand.

"Let's just say..." He tried to think of a back story.

"We're in deep with the wrong people."

"Ahh", the man replied.

"Loan sharks 'ey? Come across a couple of those in my time. Bit theatrical weren't they with the capes and the screamin'?"

Spike nodded.

"Name's Ethan."

"Spike."

"How's your girl doin'?"

The vampire turned to look at the sleeping slayer next to him. She looked relatively peaceful.

"She'll live. Bit beaten up though."

"Can take you to the nearest hospital if you like?"

Spike shook his head rapidly in protest.

"Trust me. She'll be as right as rain soon enough."

There was another long silence before Ethan decided to press Spike on his past.

"Say, what was with ya' sittin' at the side of the road when your missus here was fightin' for her life?"

He was reluctant to answer but knew they were soon to be rid of the man.

"We had a disagreement. Left me at the side of the road and took the car."

Spike thought about the Desoto.

"Damn good car that was", he snapped.

"Was awful good of ya' to go after her. Even if ya' did scare me half to death."

Spike mumbled something along the lines of an apology.

"Love makes ya' do the wackiest o' things."

Spike's nostrils flared.

"We're not together. Not in love with her. Just...made a promise to a lady. Said I'd take care of her."

Ethan nodded like he wasn't fully convinced.

"So where ya' headin'? The least I could do after all you've been through is drive you."

Spike's eyes flickered from the grey sky over the desert to Buffy's tired, pale face.

"Sunnydale, California..."

* * *

**Please leave a review!**

**Again, I apologise for the long update :(**


	20. More Than Want

**A\N: It's been a nightmare trying to find time to write but as promised, here's another update!**

_**Lyric extracts from Never Seen Anything "Quite Like You" by The Script**_

_**Lyrics in bold italics...**_

* * *

Spike thought it best to make the injured slayer aware of their change of course. Finally, after all these months he actually had a plan. He didn't gently wake her, but coldly nudged her good arm a few times. She wasn't best pleased to discover that he was still there but decided now wasn't the best time to complain. He'd just saved her from the Miyrids...again against all odds. He'd unwittingly upset the position of her disfigured arm by nudging her too. Her immediate reaction was to find out who was driving and looked in the wing mirror to see Ethan shyly waving at her. Neither Buffy nor Spike knew what to say to each other. This wasn't exactly an easy conversation to have since hours earlier she'd labeled him everything he didn't deserve to be labeled under the sun and left him on the side of the road to burn up. She tried to stifle a yelp as they hobbled over a hole in the road but wasn't very successful.

"Want me to fix that?", he mumbled, coldly, hinting at her arm. She didn't respond for several seconds, not wanting him to really be anywhere near her.

"Whatever."

He scooted closer but sought out her gaze before placing a hand on her arm. She gave him a nod of approval and he carefully raised her arm, draping it across his shoulder. She turned to look away at the blazing sun set, not wanting to look at him directly again but she wasn't making it easier for him to help her.

"Need you to face me", he explained. She did as he said but began to stare at his denim clad legs instead of his shining sapphire eyes. She felt his palm pressed into the front of her shoulder blade and her fingers gripped the nape of his neck in response. The situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the scond and it had nothing to do wih the agonising pain in her shoulder. With one swit push, he snapped her shoulder back into place. It felt as if a thousand million splinters were digging in to her flesh and scraping it all away. She squeezed her lips together and scrunched up her eyes as tightly as she was able as she let the almost intolerable anguish do it's worst. It was painful in itself just trying to keep her cries of agony at bay. Once the worst was over, she immediately retreated from the vampire and resumed her position at the far left of the car, frightened, aching and crying just ever so slightly. Spike wasn't in an understanding mood. He wasn't sure he ever was but at least he'd tried in the past. The awkward pair frequently threw each other scowls but the odd glimmer of sympathy often made it's way to the surface. Not for long however.

* * *

The still injured slayer limped her way down Revello Drive, her hand tucked inside her shirt and covering her not so severe knife wound courtesy of the Miyrids. The sticky blood stained material stuck to areas of her stomach, making it harder to walk. She'd refused Spike's offer of assistance at first, when Ethan had dropped them off about 5 minutes ago, but reluctantly allowed him to serve as her leaning post when she lost her footing. The sweetness of her blood sang to him and he desperately tried to find something else to focus on as did she. She could tell in his face that he was more thirsty than usual. The thought sickened her but also very minimally flattered her.

_**I think I want you more than want, know I need you more than need.**_

Both of them lost track of their thoughts as Buffy stumbled over a lose paving stone, humiliatingly being caught by Spike.

**_I want to hold you more than hold, when you're stood in front of me._**

Spike spotted a petite face with long hazel brown locks standing in front of the living room window. He knew instantly who it was. He guessed that Buffy did too as she tried to quicken their pace.

_**I think you know me more than know and you see me more than see.**_

The vamp analysed the new expression on her face that he hadn't ever remembered seeing before. Her lips began to stretch into a genuinely elated beam and her eyes began to widen and glow. She seemed to forget about her injury as she tread ever onwards, steadily leaving Spike behind.

_**I could die now more than die, every time you look at me.**_

Buffy's little sister had thrown the door open in seconds and was running down the porch steps, her hair flowing around her face as if they were all in slow motion. It sure felt like it right now. Neither of the Summers' girls seemed to take notice of Buffy's wound as Dawnie enveloped her sister in a huge hug. Sobs of relief and emotion could be heard which once upon a time would've made Spike's demon want to heave but the man inside him fell silent and listened in awe.

_**When it's right, its more than right. Cause you feel it more than feel. I could take this moment now, right into the grave with me.**_

One by one, the household emptied and joined Dawn and Buffy. Joyce and Willow were weeping, Xander and Giles were breathing sighs of relief and a nervous Tara stood bashfully in the doorway. Spike knew that he'd played his part for now and turned away back down the road. Maybe there was a spare crypt unoccupied somewhere.

For a couple of seconds in between the showers of hugs, Buffy spotted a familiar head of bleached blonde hair making it's way into the distance...

* * *

**Please please leave a review! :)**


	21. Silk Sheets

**A\N: Thank you to my new beta buffylives (Instagram) You're an amazing help for all those little mistakes I make :)**

* * *

Buffy was snuggled up on the couch, one arm around her mother and the other around hersister. After what felt like hours of hugs and explanations, Giles, Xander, Willow and Tara finally left the Summers family to themselves. Joyce and Dawn had been the ones to ask the least amount of questions and were just glad to have Buffy back home again. They all wanted everything to be as normal as it could be, with the Miyrids still out there, so they were enjoying a girl night in. Of course, Dawn had taken the reigns on the evening's activities but neither Joyce nor Buffy minded. Since her first attempt, Willow had upped her game and learnt how to perform more advanced protection spells. With Tara's help, 1630 Revello Drive was now surrounded by a heavy duty shield. Joyce suggested that the rest of the scoobies stay with them in the mean time but of course, Anya wanted her own space and Willow was reluctant since Tara was new to all this and didn't want her feeling uncomfortable. The slayer couldn't help but let her mind linger to the thought of Spike. Where had he gone? He'd barely been living in Sunnydale before so she didn't think he had anywhere to go.

_It's for the best._

She had kept telling herself this but it didn't seem to be making a fat lot of difference. Maybe the Miyrids weren't through with him yet. Not that she cared. She just didn't want him revealing all their intel.

"Buffy!", Dawn called for the third time.

"Huh?"

Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister. She was so busy wrapped up in her own thoughts that she wasn't focusing on the activities at hand.

"You're really not up for this are you?", she sighed. Buffy tried her hardest to focus.

"Yeah! Sure I am Dawnie. What's next?"

Dawn nor Joyce looked convinced.

"It's okay Buffy", Joyce intercepted.

"You've been through a lot. I can't imagine sleeping in a car for weeks had it's perks."

Buffy began to blush.

Well...

"You get some sleep. We'll do this another time."

Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Thanks mom."

* * *

The sheets felt glorious against her skin. She'd taken proper beds for granted and was so thankful to have her own back again. She scrunched the ends of covers in her fists and drew them up to cover her face all the way up to her nose. They smelt like vanilla and coconut just like they'd always done. Would she finally be able to rest properly tonight? She was at home, with the 2 people she loved most in the world in the other room, safe and cocooned in soft, comfy sheets. What could be better? No matter how peaceful her slumber was however, she wasn't used to sleeping on her own and dreamt of a certain dashing vampire in shining armour, crawling in beside her...

* * *

Sunday was the Summers' residence 'traditional' pancake day but Dawn had insisted bringing it forward a day. So they were now gathered around the dining room table, stacks and stacks of soft steaming pancakes surrounding them. The truth was that Buffy wasn't very hungry. She'd been so used to living on minimal food that she was finding it hard to get back into the swing of eating large amounts of filling food.

"You hungry Buffy?", Dawn mumbled with a mouthful of food.

"Not really", she sighed in response.

"Gonna take me a while to accept that there's food, other than salad, in the world again."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Joyce jumped up to answer it. She was rather skittish at the moment. Who wouldn't be? The 3 women were relieved to discover that Xander, Willow, Tara and a very fed up looking Anya in the background were waiting on the doorstep, big smiles all around. Not forgetting Anya's clearly fake one.

"Hi Mrs Summers!", Willow chirped.

"Is Buffy awake?"

"She sure is. Come in." She stepped back and her head disappeared round the door.

"Buffy!", she called.

"You have guests!"

Willow was the first to enter, of course, and hurried into the other room.

Her smile could've melted anyone's heart. Buffy almost squealed as her friend pulled her into a tight embrace that even she found hard to breathe in.

"Did you sleep okay? Must've been more comfortable than the Desoto. All those bumps in the night right?"

Buffy could feel herself blushing again. Was everyone trying to make innuendos on purpose?

"Right."

In walked an awkward looking Xander, Anya trailing behind him, her arms folded.

"Hey Buff."

"Hey Xander. Anya."

Anya tried too hard to be enthusiastic.

"Hey Buffy! How's life?"

Buffy looked taken aback.

"Good, I guess. You?", she almost giggled.

"I'm good. Yes. Thank you for asking."

Okay, there was definitely something up with Anya. Tara shyly began to shuffle forward.

"H-Hello Buffy. I-I-I'm glad you're alright", she stuttered. Anya pulled Xander to the side as soon as she saw Buffy engaged in a conversation.

"Alright yippe she's okay. Can we go now?", she snapped a bit too loudly. Willow gave the ex vengeance demon a irritable stare.

"In a bit Ahn. We haven't seen Buffy in months and she needs our support."

Buffy overheard Xander's last comment. What? They thought she needed support? She wasn't some mentally scarred little girl in need of support and counsel. She was a woman scorned needing help to end the lives of the creatures that were trying to end hers.

Once she had finished talking with Tara, she got to her feet.

"I hate to be all Miss negative guys but we need to focus on the Miyrids. None of us are safe until they're all dead. Do we have anything new to go on?"

Stony silence spread across the room.

"We've been trying Buffy but we were more focused on trying to get you back", Willow admitted.

The slayer stared in shock at her friends.

"So you've been spending more time trying to get me to come home when the reason I left in the first place was to keep you safe so that you could find out how to kill the sons of bitches?"

"We were reasearching but we needed you around. We had so many questions and no way in getting in contact with you."

Buffy was too far gone to take their point of view into account.

"Are you serious?! I told you everything I knew before! So all the things Giles had been telling me about not being able to find anything was just a bullshit cover up because you'd stopped looking?"

Dawn was looking alarmed now.

"No! Of course not!"

She didn't believe it. The 3 months she spent away from Sunnydale, away from her family. The time she spent reluctantly letting Spike take care of her was just a waste of time. They knew the Miyrids were skilled fighters, centuries old and mortal. That was about it.

"Where did Spike go?", she suddenly interrupted. The whole room looked at her in confusion.

"What? Why?", Xander snapped.

"Did anyone see him last night? This morning?"

"I did!", a squeaky voice came from the corner of the room. Anya stood by Xander, her hand raised mid way into the air.

"I saw him pacing around the graveyard at about midnight. He looked surprisingly miserable."

Willow and Xander gawped at Anya whereas Joyce, Dawn and Tara just started at the floor.

"What?", she asked, genuinely confused as to what she'd done wrong. She pointed to Xander.

"You're the one asking me to be more helpful and bam I help and still no one appreciates all the time and effort I put into contributing. It's seriously taxing work!"

Buffy ignored her and pushed past her circle of friends.

"Sorry mom, Dawn. I'll be back later." With that, she was outside and down the path in seconds.

* * *

Buffy'd been waiting in the graveyard for what felt like hours now. She wandered aimlessly amongst the tombs and crypts, relying on Spike's spontaneous arrival. He could've moved on by now. The possibility still didn't encourage her to leave. She quickened her pace, becoming more and more frustrated, and stumbled over a rock. She fell against a crypt wall and into a strand of cobwebs. She frantically wiped the sticky threads away when she noticed that the door to the crypt was ajar ever so fractionally. That was odd. She'd patrolled the graveyards of Sunnydale many a time and most of the mausoleums she'd come across were sealed shut. She cautiously approached the darkness, trying to peer inside without shifting the door. Suddenly, there was a crashing sound that came from inside. The slayer automatically went to grasp her stake. She hadn't done that for a while. She hadn't needed too. The door swung open, sending a gush of wind into her face, temporarily stunning her. An exhausted looking Spike stood there, his hair free from it's usual waxed back style and his shirt unbuttoned with a bag of blood in his hand. Buffy shoved past him.

"Won't you come in?", he grumbled sarcastically.

"I need you're help."

The pair were facing eachother now.

"Really? Don't know where I've heard that one before."

"Quit it with the clever comments! Willow and Giles have gotten nowhere with research and I don't know how much longer we can keep the Miyrids from hurting us now we're all together. They're getting stronger every day."

Spike looked completely zoned out.

"So, wha'dya need me for? Case you haven't noticed, I'm hardly Sherlock bloody Holmes."

"I don't know yet. What I do know is that you're the only one that wants this to be over as soon as." - RIGHT HERE

The vampire didn't like the way Buffy was presuming to know him.

"Who says I care about all this anymore? How d'ya know that I don't wanna just get away from Sunnyhell and leave you and your pathetic Scoobies to rot?"

Buffy didn't look at all shocked by his comment.

"I know. And that's not what you're thinking."

Buffy skulked past him again but Spike grabbed her arm before she could go out into the sun. They were so close that their noses were almost touching.

"I'm doin' this to save my own skin from those poncy Miyrids. You bloody well better not think that I'm doin' this entirely for you."

The word entirely struck them both. Spike, for saying it in the first place and Buffy for not hearing him denying that he was trying to help her.

"Got it?"

"Got it... "

* * *

**A\N: Any predictions that you have in mind? **


End file.
